Last Updated: February 11, 2024, 15:21 IST
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. (PTI/File)
Kejriwal earlier claimed that he was not formally invited for the ‘pran pratistha’ ceremony that was held on January 22 in Ayodhya
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann will be travelling to Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya to visit the newly inaugurated Ram Temple on Monday.
According to reports, apart from Mann, the AAP convenor will be accompanied by his wife and parents to the holy town, which has been catering to hundreds of devotees since the grand consecration ceremony last month.
Kejriwal earlier claimed that he was not formally invited for the ‘pran pratistha’ ceremony that was held on January 22 in Ayodhya. He had also said at the time that he wanted to visit the temple with his family and would prefer to go later.
Earlier on Sunday, Uttar Pradesh legislators, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the newly-built Ram temple in Ayodhya. Enthusiasm was visible among Ayodhya’s residents who showered flowers as the legislators arrived at the temple town.
Members of both houses of the Uttar Pradesh legislature, including those from the BJP and its allies, the Congress, BSP, and SBSP, left Lucknow in 10 buses around 9 am for Ram Lalla’s darshan Ayodhya.
On the Samajwadi Party (SP) declining the trip, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak said it was because they had ordered firing on ‘Ram bhakts’ (devotees of lord Ram) and this is part of their minority appeasement politics.
Congress MLA Aradhana Mishra, however, sought to defend the SP’s stand, saying one can go to Ayodhya whenever convenient for them.
On Saturday, the Lok Sabha took up a discussion on the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Initiating the discussion on “the construction of historic Shri Ram Temple and Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ramlala”, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Satya Pal Singh said Lord Ram belongs to everyone and not Hindus alone.