Ayodhya to be included in Delhi’s free pilgrimage scheme: Kejriwal
LUCKNOW : Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal paid obeisance to Ram Lalla at Ram Janmabhoomi and lord Hanuman at Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on Tuesday morning, and said his government would include the temple town in the Delhi government’s free pilgrimage scheme.
“I was fortunate that I got the chance to bow before Ram Lalla and I wish everyone must get this chance. Whatever capability I have, I will use that to make more and more people have ‘darshan’ here,” Kejriwal said after visiting the temples.
Kejriwal, whose party had decided to contest all 403 Assembly seats in the UP polls, had offered ‘aarti’ on the banks of the Saryu river on Monday and said it was an honour to visit the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The Delhi CM was on his maiden two-day visit to Ayodhya, which ended on Tuesday. He left Ayodhya around 12 noon for Lucknow by road and boarded a flight for Delhi from Lucknow airport at 3pm.
AAP had promised that it would provide 300 units of electricity free of cost to all domestic consumers, waive outstanding bills of 38 lakh families and ensure 24x7 power supply in Uttar Pradesh, if it was voted to power in the assembly elec
tions.
A section of seers, not aligned with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, led by Mahant Dharam Das, head of Nirvani Ani Akhada, accompanied the Delhi CM on his visit to Hanuman Garhi and Ram Janmabhoomi. These seers had organised Saryu aarti for the Delhi CM on Monday evening.
Elaborating on his government’s proposal, Kejriwal said: “The Delhi government is running ‘Chief Minister’s Teerth Yatra Yojana’. Under this plan, free pilgrimage is provided to people of Delhi to all pilgrimage places, including Vaishno Devi, Rameshwaram, Dwarka Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura and Vrindavan.”
Under this scheme, Delhiites are provided travel by AC trains and stay in AC hotels and all the expenses are borne by the government of Delhi. This service is free of charge, he added.
“A special cabinet meeting of the Delhi government is scheduled on Wednesday. In this meeting, Ayodhya will be included in the list of free pilgrimage tour programmes,” he said.
Commenting on his visit to Ram Janmabhoomi, the Delhi CM said: “I prayed to lord Ram for the prosperity of my country and for the Corona pandemic to end.”
The Delhi CM said on Twitter that he took the blessings of Shri Ram Lalla and also had ‘darshan’ of Bajrang Bali and prayed for the healthy life, happiness and prosperity of all countrymen..
Reacting to the Delhi CM’s Ayodhya visit, BJP’s MLA from Ayodhya Sadar assembly constituency, Ved Prakash Gupta, said: “AAP was opposing Ram temple. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had suggested a university instead of Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi. Now, in Ayodhya they are talking about Lord Ram and seeking his blessings. People are aware of AAP’s divisive politics.”
Meanwhile, some youths raised ‘Yogi zindabad’ slogans near Amava Ram Mandir, when the Delhi CM’s cavalcade was passing through.