Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on Sunday along with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other Shiv Sena MPs and MLAs. This is Shinde’s first visit to the temple town since being sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister in June last year.
While leaving form the temple Shinde said, “Lord Ram’s blessings are with us and that is why we have got the symbol of bow and arrow,” says Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde as he leaves for Ayodhya from Lucknow.”
Meanwhile, Fadnavis counted his lucky stars to be visiting the holy place and said “I am very happy that I am going to Ayodhya to take blessings from Lord Ram.”
#WATCH | Lucknow, UP: "I am very happy that I am going to Ayodhya to take blessings from Lord Ram," says Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde will also visit Ayodhya today. pic.twitter.com/9dWb8NFeKT
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 9, 2023
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis left for Ayodhya from Mumbai on Sunday while Shinde and other Shiv Sena leaders had flown down to Lucknow on Saturday. Shinde was welcomed by his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath at the Lucknow airport, amid fanfare. He will also visit the ongoing construction site of Ram Mandir.
“This is not a political visit. I keep visiting Ayodhya but this is the first time I have come here as the chief minister. All our party leaders wanted to take the blessings of Lord Ram. I want to thank Yogi-ji and his ministers who were here to welcome us,” Shinde told ANI.
To welcome Shinde, the Shiv Sena put up big banners with his image, in Ayodhya. Before leaving for Lucknow, CM Shinde said in a press conference, “We will be going to Ayodhya to seek Lord Ram’s blessings on April 9. The call of faith and belief prompted us to undertake this visit. We will perform the Aarti. I still remember that Dharmveer Anand Dhigana (Anand Dighe, who the Maharashtra CM considers his mentor) had sent a Karsevak to Ayodhya with a silver brick. So, we have old bonding with Ram Lalla and will be visiting the temple also.”
He said the Shiv Sena leaders wanted to go to Ayodhya after getting the Bow and Arrow symbol. “We will take part in programmes that the seers have organised in Ayodhya. In a dig at his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde said, “Earlier, seers were killed in Palghar, but now we will protect them.”The Palghar incident happened during the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Uddhav.
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