Yogi Adityanath offers prayers at Ram Lalla shrine in Ayodhya
As the chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ reverberated the air, Yogi Adityanath – the first UP chief minister to visit the makeshift Ram temple in Ayodhya in 15 years – paid obeisance to Ram Lalla on Wednesday.
Yogi stayed at the Ram Janmbhoomi site for 15 minutes where no one, barring priests and security personnel, was allowed.
The CM’s visit to the site has given an impetus to the issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Earlier in the morning, Yogi also visited Hanuman Garhi, the oldest temple of Lord Hanuman. Clad in traditional saffron robe, the CM offered prayers at the temple as per the Vedic rituals.
Welcoming the CM, people chanted slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Mandir wahin banaenge’.
The chants grew louder as Yogi appeared on the stairs of the temple after offering prayers.
Breaking the police cordon, people tried to reach out to the CM to touch his feet and seek blessings.
Yogi was visibly happy when the people greeted him as ‘mahant’. He acknowledged the chant of ‘mahant ji’ with a nod and a smile.
“It is a historic moment for Ayodhya to witness a saffronclad CM paying obeisance at the Hanuman Garhi temple,” said a resident of Ayodhya Sanjay Kumar.
Yogi Adityanath is also the chief priest of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, a post which he holds even after becoming the chief minister.
As he left Hanuman Garhi, local youths followed the cavalcade on motorcycles.
After offering prayer at Ram Janmbhoomi, Yogi visited Ram ki Paidhi ghat and offered prayers on the banks of river Sarayu, which holds religious importance for Hindus.