E-Paper
Akhilesh says he’ll visit other temples after Etawah Mahadev temple completion
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav made the comment on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the ‘Dharmdhwaja’ (religious flag) at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday reiterated his vow to visit other temples only after the completion of the Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple that his Samajwadi Party (SP) is building in his native Etawah district.
“With divine inspiration, upon the completion of the Shri Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple under construction in Etawah, I will visit other temples,” he wrote in Hindi on X the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the ‘Dharmdhwaja’ (religious flag) at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple. The flag hoisting marked the completion of the temple’s construction five years after it began.
Yadav had said he would visit Ayodhya with his family only after the completion of the Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple, when Modi led the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in January 2024.
On Tuesday, Yadav wrote that faith is the energy that fills life with positivity and harmony. “Divine will pave the way for darshan. It is God who calls us. The truth is that we all walk on the path God created. Be faithful, be positive,” he wrote.
The SP is constructing the Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple as a replica of Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath Temple. It is seen as part of SP’s attempt to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Hindutva narrative.
The Etawah temple is scheduled for inauguration in 2026 ahead of the 2027 polls in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP has been in power since 2017. Dedicated to Lord Shiv, it is being built on a 10-acre area.
