New Delhi: Congress`s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra marked the oncoming groundbreaking ceremony at Ayodhya with a tweet saluting Lord Ram, marking the shift in the party`s stance towards the Ayodhya issue. Ram is with everyone, she tweeted, expressing hope that tomorrow`s ceremony at the disputed site at Ram Janambhoomi will become an occasion for "national unity, fraternity and cultural congregation". "Simplicity, courage, restraint, sacrifice, commitment, are the essence of the name Deenbandhu Rama. Ram is with everyone, Ram is with everyone," read a Hindi tweet of Ms Gandhi Vadra, who is an in-charge of the party in Uttar Pradesh, the state where Ayodhya is located.

"With the message and grace of Lord Rama and Mother Sita, the Bhoomipujan ceremony of the temple of Ramlala became an occasion for national unity, fraternity and cultural congregation," read another tweet, in a reminder of the clash and bloodshed over the issue for decades. In 1986, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had allowed the opening of the locks of Babri Masjid and three years later, ahead of the general elections, permitted shilanyas. The Congress has not been invited for the ceremony tomorrow at Ayodhya, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and more than a hundred VIPs are expected to take part.

Following the Supreme Court`s verdict in November that said a temple should be built on the disputed site in Ayodhya, the Congress Working Committee had passed a resolution welcoming the judgment.

"It is the responsibility of each one of us to reaffirm our tradition of mutual respect and unity among all that has defined our society through the ages," Congress`s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala quoted the resolution as saying.  Mr Surjewala had said at the time that the party was in favour of the temple construction too.

But the party had been on the silent mode since, aware that any false step will further impair its chances in the Hindi heartland, especially Uttar Pradesh, where it has practically been wiped out. Ahead of last year`s elections, Ms Gandhi Vadra was given charge of reviving the party in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Her brother Rahul Gandhi, who was the party chief at the time, made it clear that it should be done by the next assembly election in the state.

The party has since been trying to nuance its stand on the issue -- a task made difficult by Rahul Gandhi`s multiple temple visits which was branded as "soft Hindutva" by BJP leaders. On December 6, 1992, a 16th Century mosque said to be have been built by Mughal emperor Babar, was razed by thousands of right-wing volunteers, who claimed it was built after demolishing a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. The event unleashed a cycle of violence that claimed hundreds of lives and dominated political headlines for decades.

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