The Congress-led Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday announced a public holiday on January 22 in view of the consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, even though the party high command had earlier declined the invitation. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu also visited the Ram temple at Ganj Bazaar in Shimla today and urged people to light lamps in their homes tomorrow.
Sukhu said he will visit Ayodhya when the time comes and have darshan of Ram Lalla. After praying at the Sukhu temple, he told reporters that the central government had only announced a half-day for tomorrow, but had announced a public holiday so that people could watch the initiation ceremony from their homes.
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Meanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh, the only politician from Himachal invited to the dedication ceremony, left for Ayodhya.
The Jharkhand government has declared a half-day work on Monday for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Jharkhand became the second opposition-controlled government to declare a holiday on Monday to mark the dedication ceremony of the Ram temple.
Earlier in the day, the Congress-ruled Himachal government declared a public holiday in the state on January 22 to mark the Pran Pratishtha of Ram ceremony in Ayodhya.
So far, 14 BJP-ruled states have declared a holiday to mark the dedication of the Ram temple. BJP leaders are demanding that Karnataka and West Bengal declare a holiday on January 22.
BJP’s Tejashvi Surya urged Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah to declare a holiday on January 22. However, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defended the government’s decision not to declare a public holiday, stressing that their devotion and religious practices are personal matters that should not be made public.
