From maintaining tactical silence to attacking the BJP government for “blurring” the lines between religion and State, to remembering Ram for the virtues of truth and ethical governance and making temple visits or taking out religious processions, to even lighting diyas to mark the day as urged by the Prime Minister. The Opposition INDIA bloc stayed away from the Ayodhya consecration event but its apprehensions regarding the mandir’s resonance and political potency were apparent in how they walked the tightrope.

Most of the leaders appeared cautious as PM Narendra Modi, in his speech after the consecration, framed the Ram Temple as a symbol of peace, patience, harmony, and linked it to the country. “Ram is not a dispute, but a solution”, “Ram does not belong only to us, but to all”, Modi said, making repeated exhortations of “Dev to desh, and Ram to Rashtra”.

Not surprisingly, the one who put the furthest distance between his government and the Ayodhya celebrations was Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPI(M) stalwart and Chief Minister of Kerala, where the electoral landscape is largely divided between the Left and Congress, and the BJP is not yet a powerful force.

“We had a strong tradition of maintaining separation between religion and the State. But that line… seems to be getting thinner,” Vijayan said in a video message. “It has come to a point in time when the inauguration of a religious place of worship is being celebrated as a State event… As those who pledged to preserve and protect our Constitution, let us reaffirm our commitment to its secular character by declining to participate in the event and upholding our constitutional responsibilities.”

The CPI(M) had been the first to turn down an invitation for the Ayodhya event, and had criticised the government for announcing a partial holiday on Monday to mark the occasion.

The Trinamool Congress, which has seen the emergence of the BJP as its biggest threat, was also sharply critical of the temple event. Ahead of the all-faith rally held by the party in Kolkata on Monday, as a counter to the BJP’s consecration celebrations, its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee posted that his religion did not teach him to “accept and embrace a place of worship… which has been built over hatred, violence and the dead bodies of innocents”.

Addressing the rally later, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said religion and politics should be kept separate.

My RELIGION has not taught me to accept and embrace a place of worship, whether it be a MANDIR, MASJID, CHURCH or GURUDWARA, which has been built over HATRED, VIOLENCE and the dead bodies of innocents. Period!

— Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) January 21, 2024

The Congress found itself caught in a war of words with the BJP government in Assam over a temple that its leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a Manipur to Mumbai Yatra, wanted to visit on Monday to offer prayers. The Congress, which turned down the consecration invite for its top leadership, has been at pains to emphasise that it is not against Ram but the BJP’s politicisation of the event, and questioned the denial of permission to Rahul to visit a revered shrine.

“Will PM Modi now decide who will visit a temple and when?” Rahul asked as he sat on a protest surrounded by supporters, who sang ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’, before the Yatra finally decided to move along.

Incidentally, at least two Congress leaders – Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, and former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Nirmal Khatri – attended the Ayodhya event.

Hours after the consecration ceremony, Congress CWC member and Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, posted a picture of the Ram idol on X with a caption “Siyavar Ramachandra ki jai.”

Talking to The Indian Express on the invitation extended to its top leadership, Tharoor had last month said that he would “love to visit the Ram temple one day, but not during a grand political extravaganza like the inauguration and not before the elections, so that no political statement is read into my going”.

“I hope each of the invitees is left free to make a personal choice, rather than be described as ‘anti-Hindu’ if they don’t go or ‘playing into the BJP’s hands’ if they do attend,” he had said then.

In Kerala, the Congress, pushed into a corner by an aggressive BJP, was divided on the issue of attending the Ayodhya event.

In Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited the Hanuman temple in Jakhu and announced that an 111-feet statue of Ram would be built at the temple. He also lit diyas at his official residence.

Ex-Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, whose decision to lean heavily on Hindutva in the recent Assembly elections has come under question after the party lost, put up a post congratulating people on the occasion of ‘Pran Pratishtha’, but criticised the BJP for giving a political colour to the ceremony.

Nath said the BJP government was only obeying Supreme Court orders, and said: “Lord Ram has always been, and will always be, at the centre of faith for all of us. Politics on this is like playing with religious freedom and traditions.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, whose government refused to announce a holiday of any duration to mark Monday’s event, unveiled a Hanuman statue in Bengaluru Rural. After the event, the Congress CM questioned the installation of a lone statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. “Ram cannot be complete without Lakshman, Sita and Anjaneya (Hanuman). They (BJP) are separating Ram,” he told PTI, adding: “Congress worships Ram of Mahatma Gandhi, whereas the BJP does not worship him.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray offered prayers at the Kalaram Temple in Nashik, located at the site where Ram is said to have stayed during his exile. He was accompanied by his wife Rashmi Thackeray, and sons Aaditya and Tejas. Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was also present.

Earlier in the day, he visited the memorial of V D Savarkar in Bhagur, the birthplace of the late Hindutva ideologue.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh posted on X a short animated video showing Lord Ram arriving in Ayodhya with Laxman and Sita, and said: “Siyaram resides in that pure heart which respects customs, ethics and decorum… Those who follow ‘Riti (custom), Niti (policy) and ‘Maryada’ (decorum) shown by Lord Ram are his true devotees.”

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal shared a picture of the newly unveiled Ram idol in Ayodhya, captioning it: “Hearty congratulations and best wishes to all of you on this sacred occasion.” He also said he would be “serving the people of Delhi by taking inspiration from the concept of Ramrajya”.

मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम भगवान श्रीराम के भव्य मंदिर में प्रतिष्ठापन के इस पवित्र अवसर पर आप सभी को हार्दिक बधाईयाँ और शुभकामनाएँ। जय सिया राम। pic.twitter.com/txcYK4gF5k

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 22, 2024

Many others, like JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin maintained a tactical silence. This is despite a row erupting on social media between the BJP and Udhayanidhi over his earlier statement saying he did not agree with “a masjid being demolished to build a temple”.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik shared a photo watching the live telecast of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony.