Arvind Kejriwal's Ayodhya Trip With Family Tomorrow, Bhagwant Mann To Join

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be visiting the Ram temple in Ayodhya tomorrow, according to party sources. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader will be accompanied by his wife and parents. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will also accompany him on the visit to the holy town, which is witnessing heavy footfall since the grand consecration ceremony last month.

Mr Kejriwal had earlier said he had not received a formal invitation for the ‘pran pratistha’ ceremony that was held on January 22. He had also said he wants to visit the temple with his family and would prefer to go later.

Lakhs of people from across the country are visiting the temple since it was opened to the public after the consecration ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leaders cutting across party lines are also visiting the holy town.

This morning, MLAs from Uttar Pradesh reached the temple, large parts of which are yet to be built. The MLAs were joined by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Legislators from main Oppositon Samajwadi Party and its chief Akhilesh Yadav skipped the temple trip.

MLAs from the other parties, including BJP, Congress, Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, OP Rajbhar-led SBSP and Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal reached Ayodhya in buses.

Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak slammed Samajwadi Party for staying away and alleged that they skipped the trip as part of their “minority appeasement politics”.

“Members of both Houses of the Uttar Pradesh Legislature have left for Ayodhya. If anybody is not going, it is the ‘samaaptwaadi party’,” Mr Maurya told news agency PTI.