Eleven Chief Ministers to visit Ayodhya today

Earthen lamps light up the banks of River Sarayu on the eve of the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya last year. File pic/AFP

Eleven Chief Ministers of the BJP-ruled states will be in Ayodhya on Wednesday to offer prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

The chief ministers were in Varanasi for two days to witness the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project and attend the CM's conclave which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Ayodhya administration has so far confirmed the official protocol of 11 chief ministers and five deputy CMs, who are expected to reach Ayodhya around noon from Lucknow on Wednesday.

According to Ayodhya District Magistrate Nitish Kumar, "After a night halt in Lucknow, the chief ministers are expected to reach Ayodhya by noon on Wednesday. They will offer prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple before visiting the Ram Janmabhoomi temple."

The chief ministers who are visiting Ayodhya include Jairam Thakur of Himachal Pradesh, Pushkar Singh Dhami of Uttarakhand, Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh, Hemanta Biswa Sarma of Assam, Basavaraj Bommai of Karnataka, Nongthombam Biren Singh of Manipur, Biplab Kumar Dev of Tripura, Bhupendrabhai Patel of Gujarat, Manohar Lal Khattar of Haryana and Pramod Sawant of Goa.

Bihar deputy Chief Ministers Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, Arunachal deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and two deputies of Yogi Adityanath -- Keshav Maurya and Dinesh Sharma -- will also be present.

Official sources said that Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Puducherry Chief Minister N. Rangaswamy are also likely to visit Ayodhya.

BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda will also visit Ayodhya on Wednesday for the first time after the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi case in 2019.

District officials said that the chief ministers, during their visit, will stay at the Panchsheel hotel and strict security arrangements have been made for the occasion. The chief ministers will have their lunch at the hotel.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath may not be able to join his counterparts in Ayodhya since the winter session of the Assembly is also beginning on Wednesday in Lucknow.

The district magistrate said that no interaction with the media is proposed at the moment.

Several chief ministers are accompanied by their wives and have asked for privacy.

Covid protocols have also been ensured and temples have been sanitised.

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