Sonia Gandhi, only invitee from Congress to Ram temple consecration ceremony

Sonia Gandhi is the only invitee from Congress’s first family to the January 22 consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as siblings Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ostensibly do not qualify to receive invitations based on the criteria set by the Ram Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust. Sources said Sonia Gandhi was invited by temple construction committee chairperson Nripendra Mishra in her capacity as chief of the Congress Parliamentary Party. The trust is sending out invitations to three categories of political guests – presidents of the mainstream parties, leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and those who participated in the Ram temple movement between 1984 and 1992. The special guests for whom the trust is rolling out the red carpet include seers, industrialists, artists and sportspeople.