Ramji ki Nikli Sawaari: CM Yogi, Speaker leads Congress, BSP, RLD MLAs in buses to Ayodhya temple; SP absent

As part of a visit to Ayodhya arranged by Uttar Pradesh Speaker Satish Mahana, MLAs and MLCs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with the Congress, BSP and People MPs from the League for Democracy (RLD) visited the temple to visit the town on Sunday. However, the absence of the Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA remained conspicuous after party president Akhilesh Yadav skipped the trip.

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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Mahana led the legislators to the Ram temple complex while the chief minister flew from Pune to Ayodhya. Mahana led the MLA in driving 10 buses from Lucknow to Ayodhya. Congress MLA Aradhana Mishra Mona and BSP MLA Umashankar Singh and RLD MLA traveled with Mahana.

Yadav told the Speaker in Parliament on Saturday: “I will not go to Ayodhya on your invitation. I will go when Ram Lala calls me. First, I will do Shiv Aradhana and then Going to Ayodhya with my whole family.”

Sources said all SP MLAs will go to Ayodhya when Yadav chooses to go there, triggering criticism from UP. The SP MLA’s absence was also criticized by the BJP, with deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya saying, “Joh Ram Ka Nahin, Woh Kisi Ka Nahin…these are the people who ordered firing on Ram bhakts in 1990.”

Mahana said he invited Yadav and other SP MLAs but unfortunately he declined the invitation. Yadav had earlier declined an invitation to attend the Pran Pratishtha ceremony on January 22.

In Ayodhya, the Chief Minister and Speaker along with the MLAs will visit the Hanumangarhi Temple and the Ram Temple complex where they will spend over four hours having the darshan of Ram Lalla and Borg lunch in the temple complex.

The visit of the UP MLA and Cabinet was originally planned on February 1 but was postponed to February 11 due to the high number of pilgrims at the temple complex.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is launching a political attack on Yadav for rejecting two invitations to the Ram temple.