Amid the growing public interest in India around the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Mauritian government by Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth announced the grant of two hours of special break for practicing Hindu public officers on Jan 22 to enable them to participate in local events marking the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Shri Ram Lalla in the Indian temple town.

In an official statement, the Mauritian government notification read, "(The) Cabinet has agreed to the grant of a one-off special leave of two hours on Monday 22 January 2024 as from 1400 hours to public officers of Hindu faith, subject to exigencies of service, in the context of the inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir in India, which is a landmark event as it symbolises the return of Lord Ram in Ayodhya."

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will install the Ram Lalla idol at the sanctum-sanctorum of the temple at noon on Jan 22, with Prime Minister Modi, and in the presence of hundreds of Hindu seers.

Vedic rituals for the 'Pran Pratistha' will begin a week earlier, and Lakshmi Kant Dixit - a priest from Varanasi in UP, which is the Prime Minister's Lok Sabha constituency - will perform the main ritual.

While invitations were sent out to opposition leaders, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury "respectfully declined" the same.

The Congress has accused the BJP of making the consecration a "political project" for electoral gains ahead of the general election less than three months away.