Ayodhya is a matter of faith & devotion: CM Shinde in Lucknow

Addressing mediapersons at the airport, Shinde expressed his gratitude to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for making good arrangements for his Ayodhya visit. He will perform ‘aarti’ at the Ram temple and the Sarayu river. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be present on the occasion.

“Ayodhya is a matter of shraddha, bhavna, bhakti and asmita (faith, emotion, devotion and pride) for us. I am so elated for visiting Ayodhya for the first time after becoming chief minister. Ram bhakts have changed the atmosphere here. An atmosphere of ‘bhagwa’ (saffron) and Hindutva is visible,” said Shinde.

“The construction of the Ram temple is going on under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and it will be completed soon. Hence, the dream of Balasaheb Thackeray and Ram bhakts is going to be fulfilled soon. I express my gratitude to PM Modi and Yogiji for that.”

Accompanied by his party MPs and MLAs, Shinde’s visit is being seen as a major show of strength.

The Maharashtra CM had on Friday flagged off a special train to Ayodhya from Thane with thousands of his party workers on board. They will welcome Shinde in Ayodhya on Sunday morning.

Shinde said that he brought BJP leaders and ministers along with those from the Shiv Sena to Ayodhya so that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance becomes stronger.

A senior BJP leader in Ayodhya said that local party leaders would welcome Shinde at the helipad at Ram Katha Park and accompany him to different places in the city. Later in the evening, Shinde will meet Adityanath at his official residence in Lucknow before leaving for Mumbai.

Earlier, speaking to mediapersons at the Mumbai airport before boarding the flight to Lucknow, Shinde slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray for criticising his trip. “It is good that because of our work, those who never ventured out of their homes are going out to meet people,” he said in a veiled attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Taking a dig at Shinde’s Ayodhya visit, Aaditya said that those “running Ravan Rajya were going to Ayodhya”.

“This is Kalyuga. Those who are running Ravan Rajya in the state are going to Ayodhya. But, surely we will bring back Ram Rajya in the state. We will fulfill our promises to the people,” Aaditya said.

Shinde hit back at Aaditya, saying that he is in politics from the time when Aaditya wasn’t even born.