Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on January 21 said that while he would not be attending the idol consecration ceremony at the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya on January 22, he was planning, instead, to take his Cabinet, as well as MLAs and MPs from the State, to do “darshan” at the temple later on.
“Instead of a handful of people attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya, I would like to take all State Cabinet members as well as MLAs and Parliamentarians later,” said Mr. Shinde, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Tata Marathon meet.
“This temple is about our faith and pride. I would like to take officials and devotees to Ayodhya,” he added, saying instructions have been given to officials to carry out a cleanliness drive in temples and to decorate them with lights ahead of Monday’s ceremony.
