Ram temple ceremony: Sukhu declares holiday, Soren half day today

Karnataka, the only other state where the Congress is in power, refused to accept the demand of the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) to declare a holiday but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would inaugurate a newly constructed Ram Temple in Bengaluru.

“I will light a lamp in my house and encourage others to do the same. I will definitely visit the temple in Ayodhya in the near future,” Sukhu told the media after lighting a lamp at the Ram temple in Shimla, following which a continuous recitation of the Ramcharitmanas began there.

The Himachal CM also announced that a 111-foot statue of Ram would be installed at the Jakhu Temple in Shimla at an astrologically mandated time. Various Hindu organisations had proposed the construction of the Ram statue alongside the 108-foot statue of Hanuman that exists at the temple complex.

Earlier, two of Sukhu’s ministers — former CM Virbhadra Singh’s son Vikramaditya who is the Sports Minister and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh — had declared their intention to visit Ayodhya to pay obeisance at the temple.

In Jharkhand, the notification of the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha on Sunday comes weeks after CM Soren said he would attend the consecration event if invited. The Jharkhand CM, government insiders said, does not want to play the BJP’s game. “Soren has been able to instil in everyone’s mind that he welcomes all religions and that people have the right to practise their faith without any fear. In this line, half day has been marked as an off,” said a leader.

Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah told reporters in Tumakuru that the government would not declare a holiday on Monday but the Muzrai department would conduct special rituals at all state-run temples during the consecration event in Ayodhya. “Tomorrow (Monday), I am inaugurating a new Ram Temple constructed at Mahadevapura constituency in Bengaluru,” Siddaramaiah said.

Since Friday, BJP leaders have criticised Siddaramaiah, labelling him as “anti-Hindu” for not declaring leave on Monday. Congress leaders, including Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, have defended the government saying that “we don’t need to learn from others about religion and devotion”. The Union government on Thursday announced that all central government offices, central institutions, and central industrial establishments would remain closed for half a day on January 22 to “enable employees to participate in the celebrations”.