Bengaluru, Jan 3 (IANS): Karnataka BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Wednesday slammed the CPI(M) for turning down the invitation for inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, saying that the Communists only "want a murderer".

In a post on X, the BJP MLA said: "The Communist Party, which has roundly rejected the invitation to inaugurate Ram Janmabhoomi, tweeted on its official website handle to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mao Zedong, the totalitarian dictator who brutally killed more than four million people. Communists don't want Lord Rama, but a murderer."

He also also shared the post by the CPI(M), which reads: “We salute great revolutionary Mao on his birth anniversary, under whose leadership the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people were able to successfully carry out the people’s democratic revolution.”

Late last month, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had announced that he won't be attending the much-anticipated inauguration ceremony.

“CPI(M) General Secretary Comrade Sitaram Yechury has received an invitation to attend the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The party's policy has been to respect religious beliefs and safeguard the rights of every individual to pursue their belief," the party said in a statement on December 26, 2023.

"It believes that religion is a personal choice which should not to be converted into an instrument for political gains. Therefore, we will not be attending the ceremony,” it added.