New Delhi: Union Minister Anurag Thakur, among several BJP leaders, was spotted cleaning the premises of Prachin Hanuman Mandir at Connaught Place, Delhi, on Tuesday, as part of the cleanliness drive launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The campaign was launched by the BJP ahead of the consecration ceremony to be held at Ayodhya on January 22.  






He urged the opposition parties to stop commenting on the ceremony, as it was built after 500 years of waiting. On being questioned about the opposition's charge that the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony was being turned into a political event by the BJP and RSS, Thakur said that some people are still unhappy with the temple's construction, as per reports by news agency PTI.  


The Union Minister further added, "There are some who are pained at the construction of the temple, there are some who are pained by the pran pratishtha ceremony and then there are some who have to give statements on it for the sake of their politics," reported PTI. 


He further added, "I just want to say that they should stop commenting and giving statements on it. The Ram temple in Ayodhya has come up after a wait of 500 years and crores of people from across the country and world will visit it in the coming days."


Thakur said that the doors of the Ram Temple will be opened for devotees after the grand pran pratishtha ceremony on January 22. 


Talking about the cleanliness drive started by BJP he said, "... PM Modi has urged everyone to clean the temples across the country... I also participated in the drive... I want to tell the citizens that there is no devotion bigger than maintaining cleanliness at our religious places...", reported ANI.


Several other leaders, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, joined the cleanliness drive by cleaning the Mumba Devi temple premises in Mumbai. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was also seen cleaning the Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on January 16.   


Taking part in the cleanliness drive, Tripura CM Manik Saha said, "PM Modi had asked us to ensure that our temples are clean. We started the cleanliness drive on January 14. The environment in the whole country has changed. We will visit Ayodhya Ram Temple after January 22."






BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also took part in the campaign.