SIRSI (KARNATAKA): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that those who turned down the invitation for the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be rejected by the people in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He was apparently referring to the Congress party for not attending the event.

Modi said a decision on building the Ram temple should have been taken the very next day of the country's independence.

Targeting the Congress on the issue, he alleged that the "same forces" tried till the last minute to ensure that the Ram temple was not built and had approached the court on the last day as well.

"The Congress and its coterie have tried for 70 years that the Ram temple should not be built," the prime minister said addressing a public gathering at this taluka headquarters town in Uttara Kannada district.

The trustees of Ram temple ignored all the hurdles put by the Congress and its allies, went to their houses and invited them to attend the consecration ceremony, which was a kind gesture on their part, he said.

"They (Congress leaders) rejected the Ram temple inauguration invitation. The country will reject those who turned down the Ram temple invitation," Modi said.