Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav’s announcement that he would visit the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on December 12 has triggered a political slugfest in Uttar Pradesh, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) challenging him to visit the temple on December 6, the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, and apologise for the killing of kar sevaks during the then SP government.
With the high-stakes 2027 assembly elections just months away, Ayodhya is once again at the centre of Uttar Pradesh politics.
The BJP on Tuesday intensified its attack on the SP chief over his proposed visit. State BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary challenged Yadav to visit Ayodhya on December 6 instead and apologise for the killing of kar sevaks during the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.
Akhilesh Yadav, accompanied by his wife Dimple Yadav and other family members, will first offer prayers at Hanumangarhi and then have darshan of Ram Lalla, SP leader and former Ayodhya MLA Pawan Pandey announced on November 7.
The visit will be Yadav’s first to the Ram temple since the consecration of Ram Lalla in January 2024.
Chaudhary, who is also a Union minister, said that if Yadav’s visit was an act of genuine repentance and not a political ploy in the name of Lord Ram, he should prove it by choosing the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
“If this is not a new political ploy in the name of Lord Ram but genuine repentance, then visit the Ram temple on December 6, not 12. Apologise for the grave sin of getting hundreds of Ram devotees killed. Do not think your past sins will be washed away; rather, this pretence of devotion to Lord Ram will cost you whatever little political existence you have left,” Chaudhary said in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}“If this is not a new political ploy in the name of Lord Ram but genuine repentance, then visit the Ram temple on December 6, not 12. Apologise for the grave sin of getting hundreds of Ram devotees killed. Do not think your past sins will be washed away; rather, this pretence of devotion to Lord Ram will cost you whatever little political existence you have left,” Chaudhary said in a post on X.
{{/usCountry}}The December 6 reference is to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992. The event remains deeply emotive in Uttar Pradesh politics, and the BJP has consistently targeted the SP over the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks during the Mulayam Singh Yadav government.
The attack came amid a series of remarks by BJP leaders questioning Akhilesh Yadav’s religious credentials and accusing the SP of appeasement politics.
Deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said the SP’s “dreams are never going to be fulfilled” and accused the party of sheltering criminals during its rule and now invoking Ayodhya for political gain.
“Dreams of Samajwadi Party are never going to be fulfilled. Those who gave ‘One District, One Mafia’ to Uttar Pradesh, those who gave shelter to goons and mafia, during the SP regime, used to keep an evil eye on women; today they are chanting ‘Ram Ram’. Our government has ensured that action is taken against the mafia in Uttar Pradesh,” Pathak told reporters in Lucknow.
“Samajwadi Party has at least started taking the name of Ayodhya Dham. These are the same people who used to dislike the names of Ayodhya Dham and Lord Ram,” he added.
BJP MLC Subhash Yaduvansh also criticised the SP chief, alleging that his party’s government had ordered firing on kar sevaks. He said those responsible were now talking about Sanatan Dharma and asked Yadav to take a dip in the Sarayu and apologise to the kar sevaks and their families before visiting the Ram temple.
Earlier, at Deepotsav in Ayodhya on November 7, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said: “Let them come to Ayodhya, but they should seek forgiveness from Ram bhakts.”