Not surprised by Cong not attending Ram Temple inauguration: K'taka BJP chief Vijayendra
Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday said he was not surprised by the Congress party’s decision to decline the invitation to attend the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Reacting to the Congress’s decision, Vijayendra said the party was against the Ram temple from day one.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury today ”respectfully declined” the invitation to attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony with the party accusing the BJP and the RSS of making it into a ”political project” for electoral gain.
”The BJP is not surprised by the decision of the Congress. Their intention was very clear from day one. When Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, the next day BJP ruled state governments were dismissed by the then Congress government. On every occasion, the grand old party has proved that they are against the Rama Janmabhoomi movement,” Vijayendra told reporters here.
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Alleging that the Congress never believed in Bhagwan Ramachandra, he even expressed his apprehension that the state government may withdraw its decision to conduct special prayers in temples under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Endowment Department on January 22.
The consecration ceremony will be held on January 22 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 people are expected to attend it.
The temple trust has also invited 4,000 seers from across the country and 50 guests from foreign countries.
”Their mindset is very clear. In spite of getting the invitation for the inauguration of Ram temple, the rejection by the Congress party and their reluctance to attend the auspicious event, clearly shows that they are upset with the way things are going on, especially after the outcome of the election results in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,” Vijayendra said.
He said Congress and the INDIA bloc are totally upset as they have realised that they are not going to come to power at the Centre.
”They have also realised that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are going to create history by coming back to power for the third consecutive term,” he added.
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Rs 2000 notes withdrawal: Rs 6,691 cr worth such notes still with public
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said 98.12 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs 6,691 crore worth such notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.
The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, declined to Rs 6,691 crore at the close of business on December 31, 2024, RBI said. "Thus, 98.12 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned," it said in a statement.
The facility for deposit and/or exchange of the Rs 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches till October 7, 2023. However, this facility is still available at the 19 issue offices of the Reserve Bank. From October 9, 2023, the RBI issue offices are also accepting Rs 2000 banknotes from individuals and entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Further, members of the public can also send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country to any of the RBI issue offices for credit to their bank accounts. The Rs 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.
The 19 RBI offices depositing/exchanging the banknotes are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram. The Rs 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes.
