Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday took exception to the Pran Prathishta ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya being held as a State event. “We had a strong tradition of maintaining separation between religion and the State. But that line demarcating religion and the State seems to be getting thinner,” Vjayan said after the consecration ceremony in a video message on social media.

Reacting to the event, Vijayan, whose party was the first to reject the invitation to take part in the ceremony, said, “Now, it has come to a point in time when the inauguration of a religious place of worship is being celebrated as a State event. Most of us have been invited to participate in the rituals. 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,” he said.

“Religion is a private affair and the Indian Constitution has minced no words in stating that all persons are equally entitled to the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. As those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of India, we ought to ensure that every person within our territories enjoys this right in equal measure. At the same time, we cannot be promoting one religion above all others, or demean one religion beneath every other. As our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had often opined, Indian secularism means separation of religion and state… This is a major departure from the times when our constitutional office-bearers have been cautious from taking part in religious events as it would cast aspersions on our credentials as a secular state,” he said.

Vijayan said secularism is the “soul of the democratic republic of India”. “It has been part of our identity as a nation right from the days of our national movement. Those who belonged to different faiths and those who were not part of religion had taken active part in the freedom struggle. This nation belongs to all people and all sections of Indian society in equal measure,” he said.

The CPI(M), in December, was the first Opposition party to turn down the invitation to attend the consecration ceremony on Monday. Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the event was “straightforward politicisation of the religious beliefs of the people, which is not in consonance with the Constitution.”

“As far as the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court are concerned, they have very clearly said that the state shall not profess any particular religion or have any religious affiliation. What is happening in this inauguration ceremony is that it has been converted into a State-sponsored event with the Prime Minister, UP CM and others holding constitutional positions… Therefore, in these circumstances, I regret not being able to attend the event,” Yechury said last month.

CPI(M) leader and Politburo member Brinda Karat had also criticised the ceremony for politicising a religious event. “We respect the religious beliefs but they are connecting a religious programme with politics… This is the politicisation of a religious programme. This is not right,” Karat said last month.

The party, in a statement, had underlined its belief that religion is a personal choice while saying it was “most unfortunate” that “the BJP and RSS have converted a religious ceremony into a state-sponsored event”. “Our policy is to respect religious beliefs and the right of each individual to pursue their belief. Religion is a personal choice not to be converted into an instrument for political gain,” the statement said.

Though the Congress also announced that its top leaders would not attend the consecration event, for becoming an RSS-BJP event, it has left to its governments and leaders to mark the occasion. While the Siddaramaiah government refused to announce a holiday for the day, unlike most states, the Chief Minister was present at a temple event on Monday.