Maharashtra politicians celebrate consecration of Ram temple

On Monday evening, CM Shinde attended a ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony in Thane’s Tembhi Naka and then a ‘shobha yatra’ in the heart of Mumbai city

MUMBAI: Even as the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple was held in Ayodhya with pomp and fanfare by PM Narendra Modi, politicians in Maharashtra too had their own divine moments, with chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis participating in ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremonies and ‘shobha yatras’ (processions) in Thane, Nagpur and Mumbai.

Mumbai, India. Jan 22, 2024.Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Central cabinet minister Piyush Goyal participated in the Shobha Yata at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. on the occasion of Sriram pranpratisha in Ayodhya. Jan 22,2024.(Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

On Monday evening, CM Shinde attended a ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony in Thane’s Tembhi Naka and then a ‘shobha yatra’ in the heart of Mumbai city. Thousands of people participated in the yatra from Shivaji Park to Ram Mandir in Wadala, dancing and doing garba steps to the dhol. Union minister Piyush Goyal accompanied Shinde, who skipped Ayodhya today but will be visiting with all his cabinet colleagues and MLAs in the days to come.

Fadnavis also took darshan and attended a pran pratishtha ceremony at two places in Nagpur—the Mahalaxmi Jagdamba temple and Zingabai Takli. He distributed 6,000 kg of Ram halwa among devotees at the Mahalaxmi Jagdamba temple. In Amravati district, he felicitated kar sevaks who participated in L K Advani’s rath yatra in 1992, which ultimately led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

However, the state government’s other deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, was not seen in any such ceremony. He was expected to attend the ‘shobha yatra’ from Shivaji Park to Ram Mandir along with CM Shinde at Wadala but chose to skip it. His party’s Maharashtra president, Sunil Tatkare, however, attended a celebration ceremony which was organised by the Mumbai unit of his party close to the NCP headquarters at Nariman Point.

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray performed an aarti at Nashik’s Kala Ram temple with his entire family and another aarti at the Godavari river subsequently. Thackeray was sent an invite to the Ayodhya event by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas trust by registered post but chose not to attend, as he had declared his plans much in advance.

The NCP’s national working president Supriya Sule too participated in a ‘shobha yatra’ to the Vitthal Rukmini temple at Kondivade in Pune district. Her father and NCP chief Sharad Pawar chose to avoid attending any such ceremony. Meanwhile, his party MLA, Rohit Pawar, objected to a claim made by Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, who, while addressing the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, said that Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji had contemplated taking sanyas. Rohit’s office, in a post on ‘X’, said, ‘Shivaji Maharaj was religious but never thought of taking sanyas (retirement). He gave the highest importance to his duty, which was establishing Swarajya (rule of the people).’

Citizens, helped along by the BJP, also celebrated across the state. BJP units put up LCD monitors at public places and outstation railway stations for people to watch the live telecast of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony. In residential colonies in Mumbai and other cities, people worshipped idols of Lord Rama, distributed sweets and carried out ‘shobha yatras’. Many temples were decorated and lit up, aartis were performed, and at some places crackers were burst.