Shimla: The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh has declared Monday, 22 January — the day of the pran pratishtha at the Ram temple in Ayodhya — a public holiday.
The state government issued a notification Sunday announcing a public holiday in all departments, boards, schools, colleges, universities and other institutions of the state on the occasion of the pran pratishtha in Ayodhya.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been pressuring the Congress government in the state to declare a public holiday Monday.
Meanwhile, a 24-hour ‘akhand path’ at Ram Mandir Shimla began Sunday. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also paid obeisance at the temple and lit diyas.
The CM told mediapersons that the Hindu deity Ram does not belong to any particular party but is the ideal of the entire country and its culture. He appealed to everyone to follow the path shown by Ram.
“Lord Ram does not belong to one party. They (the BJP-led government at the Centre) declared a half-day’s holiday on 22 January and we have decided to observe a full day’s holiday on the occasion of Ram Lalla’s pran pratishtha,” Sukhu told the press Sunday.
“The consecration ceremony of the Ram temple is being organised in Ayodhya Monday, and on this occasion, I will light a lamp in my house and encourage others to do the same,” he also said.
Earlier this month, Sukhu had said that Ram was a role model for everyone. “We follow Lord Ram. We do not need any invitation to visit Ayodhya. We will go to Ayodhya when the time comes,” he had told the media.
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Vikramaditya Singh reaches Ayodhya
Meanwhile, PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh — the son of the late six-term Himachal CM and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh — has arrived in Ayodhya to attend the ceremony, to which he has been invited.
“I am invited because of my father’s role. He wanted the Ram temple to be built in Ayodhya and had also contributed some money during his last days,” he told ThePrint Sunday.
Earlier, Singh was quite vocal about the invitation and his plan to visit Ayodhya but remained silent after top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury decided not to attend the event.
On 10 January, Singh had said that he would go to Ayodhya to attend the ceremony to “honour his father”.
Earlier, he had also thanked Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the invitation.
He had also told the media that the CM and other cabinet colleagues would also visit Ayodhya soon.
“So far, no invitation has been received from Ayodhya, but whether we get an invitation or not, Lord Ram is the centre of our aastha (faith) and we will follow the path shown by him,” he had earlier told ThePrint.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)