Ram Temple Inauguration: Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, deviated from his party line and reached Ayodhya on Monday to attend the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony, reported news agency PTI.
Singh had previously promised to attend the event when he received the invitation, calling it a 'lifetime opportunity.' However, he later changed his stand and declined the invite to show his support to the Congress high command, reported PTI.
This was followed by another changed response from him where he said that he would visit the temple whenever he gets time but did not specify if he would be attending the ceremony on January 22.
After attending the Shri Ram Pran Pratishtha ceremony, Singh said, "I feel fortunate to be present here. Today is a historic day for the country and the world. I feel proud... I pray to Lord Ram that the coming year brings development for the people of Himachal Pradesh and that our state moves ahead on the path of development."
The Himachal Pradesh minster was spotted arriving in Lucknow from Chandigarh on Monday. Singh was declared a state guest by the Uttar Pradesh governemnt and also met his counterpart in the state Jitin Prasada, added PTI.
Congress had denied the invitation to the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony and referred to it as a "BJP/RSS" event. Following this, Mallikarjun Kharge, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, and Sonia Gandhi, among other Congress leaders had declined the invitation.
The ceremony was graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who actively participated in the Pran Pratishtha rituals in Ayodhya. PM Modi landed at the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport from where he headed to the Ram Temple to take part in the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. After performing the pooja he addressed the gathering following which he is scheduled to visit Kuber Tila.
Former Presidents Ram Nath Kovind and Pratibha Patil, Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah, industrialist Anil Ambani, and cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Anil Kumble were some of the prominent personalities that attended the Ram Mandir inauguration.
In another similar case, MLA Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala constituency, reached Ayodhya to witness the grand inaugural ceremony.