11 BJP CMs and 3 deputy CMs to offer prayers at Ayodhya temple today
Some of the chief ministers will also be accompanied by their family members
New Delhi/Varanasi: Eleven chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, who attended a conclave on “good governance” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in the PM’s parliamentary constituency Varanasi, will offer prayers at the makeshift temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi and Hanumangarhi site in Ayodhya on Wednesday. The protocol officials of the 11 chief ministers and three deputy chief ministers reached Ayodhya on Tuesday. Some of the chief ministers will also be accompanied by their family members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project on Monday.
The chief ministers were expected to arrive in Lucknow from Varanasi on Tuesday evening and after a night’s stay in the Uttar Pradesh capital, will reach Ayodhya by 11 am on Wednesday, a senior district official said.
The chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Gujarat, Haryana and Goa, and two deputy chief ministers from Bihar and one from Arunachal Pradesh will be visiting the holy city, the official said. Official sources indicated that the chief ministers of Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Karnataka and Puducherry may also visit Ayodhya.
After the CMs’ conclave, Mr Modi posted a picture with the chief ministers on Twitter, saying: “Just concluded an extensive meeting in Kashi with @BJP4India Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers.”
Prime Minister Modi, who inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Project and then attended the Ganga aarti late evening on Monday, ventured out on the streets of Varanasi in the early hours of Tuesday along with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Both visited the just-inaugurated Kashi Vishwanath Dham and the Banaras railway station. The Banaras railway station was earlier known as Manduadih, and was renamed early this year.
In a tweet posted at around 1 am, the PM said that he had inspected “key development works” in the temple town.
A little past midnight, chants of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Modi, Modi” rent the air as the PM, surrounded by his SPG security personnel, took a walk on the streets of Varanasi near Godowlia Chowk, which had been decked up to welcome him.
He also shared pictures of his late-night visit to Kashi Vishwanath Dham, which he dedicated to the people just a few hours before that.