Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh, a minister in the Himachal Pradesh government, visited Ayodhya on Monday, defying his party's stance on the Ram Temple event. Sudhir Sharma, a Congress MLA in Himachal Pradesh, also attended the consecration ceremony of the temple.
Who is Vikramaditya Singh?
Vikramaditya Singh is the son of current Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh.
On Sunday, he arrived in Lucknow from Chandigarh.
The public works minister of the Himachal Pradesh government was declared the state guest of BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government.
Click to follow full coverage of the Ram Temple event
On January 8, he had said visiting Ayodhya for the ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of this historic day and as a Hindu having faith in 'Dev Samaj', it is my responsibility to be present on the occasion and witness the 'pran pratishtha' of Lord Ram,” he said.
On January 10, the Congress said its top leaders wouldn't attend the ceremony as the BJP was trying to score political brownie points with the event.
{{/usCountry}}On January 10, the Congress said its top leaders wouldn't attend the ceremony as the BJP was trying to score political brownie points with the event.
{{/usCountry}}Later, Singh made a u-turn saying he never said he would visit Ayodhya on January 22.
“The party high command has specified that everyone is free to visit the temple whenever they want as religion and faith have nothing to do with politics and therefore, we will definitely visit the temple. I will not say that I will go on January 22 but will go whenever I feel like it,” he had said.
Vikramaditya Singh, born in 1989, is an MLA from Shimla Rural constituency. He is the son of ex-CM late Virbhadra SIngh. His mother, Pratibha Singh is the MP from Mandi. She is also the state Congress chief.
He is the titular king of the erstwhile princely state of Bushahr.
He is a post-graduate in History from St Stephen's College, Delhi.
Vikramaditya Singh was the chief of the state youth Congress between 2013 and 2017.
He is a two-time MLA. He won his first election in 2017. He repeated the performance in 2023.
With inputs from PTI