Senior Congress leaders Deepender Hooda, Avinash Pande, party’s Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai and firebrand spokesperson Supriya Shrinate on Monday offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple and had darshan of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

The leaders took holy dip in Saryu River before offering prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple.

After that, the Congress leaders reached Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya Dham and had darshan of Shri Ram Lalla and offered prayers.

The Congress leaders also met the Chief Priest of Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, Shri Satyendra Das and sought his blessings.

The Ayodhya visit of Congress leaders just a week ahead of the January 22 consecration ceremony of Ram temple comes amid BJP’s criticism of the grand old party for declining the invitation to attend the mega event.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had last week “respectfully declined” the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir, terming it a political program of the BJP.

The decision met with severe criticism by the BJP, which accused the Congress of being “anti-Ram” and “anti-Santana”.

The visit aims at countering the anti-Hindu narrative being set by the BJP and comes a day before the rituals of the January 22 consecration ceremony begin.

Speaking about the visit, Shrinate said that she hails from Purvanchal and visits the Hanuman Garhi temple everytime she passes through Ayodhya.

“I am from Poorvanchal, so whenever I go to Maharajganj from Lucknow, I visit Hanuman Garhi and bow my head to Ram Lalla,” she said.

The Congress leader also talked abou the Ram Rajya and how it will be achieved.

“We wish the Ram Rajya comes in this country. What is that Ram Rajya? If situations of unemployment, injustice, inflation, and economic disparity persist in the country, the dream of Lord Ram is incomplete… We have come here to fulfil that vow,” she added.

Senior Congress leader from Haryana, Hooda, said that he will not take political questions but asserted he comes from a culture where people greet each other with a Ram-Ram.

“I have come here on the occasion of Makar Sankranti to seek blessings of Lord Ram… I came here last year as well… I will not take any political questions on this pious land… We come from a culture where we greet each other with ‘ram ram’,” he told ANI.