‘Covid situation in UP a concern, CM Uddhav won’t go’

MUMBAI: After earlier announcing that Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will attend the bhoomipujan ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Monday said his leader will not visit the northern state due to the rising Covid-19 cases.

“Nobody is waiting for the invitation. First, understand the [Covid-19] situation in UP and Ayodhya. The outbreak is a matter of concern. UP minister Kamal Rani [Varun] lost her life, while three other ministers are infected. I think the ceremony must be attended by as few people as possible,” said Raut.

The Sena, however, is planning a low-key celebration in the state on Wednesday.

Thackeray parted ways with the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after the Assembly polls in October last year. He is not invited to the event, despite his party playing a key role in the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement in the late 1980s under the then Sena chief and the CM’S father Bal Thackeray.

Raut, however, said that Sena does not want to politicise the issue. “It is important that the PM is going. CM can go there anytime,” Raut said, extending his good wishes to PM Narendra Modi, who is expected to attend the ceremony along with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and a few other dignitaries on Wednesday.

Raut said Sena’s contribution in the bringing to fruition the Ram temple will always remain in the country’s history.

“I do not think so,” said Raut when asked if not inviting the chief minister was a political ploy to keep Shiv Sena away. “There is no issue on the invitation. This is not a wedding. We do not want to give it a political colour,” he said.