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Yogi to visit Ayodhya amid poll panel's gag order

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya amid 72-hour campaign ban imposed on him by the Election Commission. Adityanath visited the famous Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and offered prayers yesterday.

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Published : Apr 17, 2019, 11:26 AM IST

Published : Apr 17, 2019, 11:26 AM IST

Updated : Apr 17, 2019, 12:10 PM IST

Amid poll panel's gag order, Yogi to visit Ayodhya today

Lucknow/Faizabad: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday amid 72-hour campaign ban imposed on him by the Election Commission.

Yogi to visit Ayodhya amid poll panel's gag order

Adityanath visited the famous Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and offered prayers on Tuesday, a day after the poll panel barred him from electioneering for three days for equating the ongoing Lok Sabha polls to a contest between 'Ali' and 'Bajrang Bali'.

In Ayodhya, along with the makeshift shrine to Ram Lalla, the chief minister will also pray at the nearby Hanuman Garhi temple on Wednesday.

Faizabad BJP district president Awadhesh Pandey said, "The chief minister's programme is all confirmed, he will offer prayers at Ram Janambhoomi and Hanuman Garhi temple and meet VHP religious leaders in Ayodhya on Wednesday."

Adityanath will be meeting Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and Digambar Akhara Mahant Suresh Das, he said.


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According to Mahant Suresh Das, the chief minister will spend Wednesday in Ayodhya and will have lunch with prominent Sadhus of Ayodhya at Digambar Akhara.

In the evening, he will go to Devipatan, a temple of goddess Durga in Balrampur district where he would stay in the night.

The chief minister reached the Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow on Tuesday morning and got a rousing reception from his supporters amid slogans of "Jai Gorakhdham" and "Jai Bajrangbali ji".

He, however, refused to take questions from the media persons, following the poll panel's gag order.

He spent about 25 minutes at the temple and was seen bowing before the deity and sitting with folded hands to recite the "Hanuman Chalisa."

Though he accepted greetings from the large numbers of morning worshippers present there on a Tuesday, the day dedicated to Lord Hanuman, with a smile, he refrained from interacting with them.


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The chief minister also stayed away from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's roadshow, held on Tuesday before he filed his nomination paper for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency.

Adityanath also cancelled his rallies in Nagina and Fatehpur Sikri.

The BJP termed the chief minister's visit to the temple "a personal one".

The Election Commission on Monday barred Adityanath from campaigning for 72 hours starting 6 am Tuesday for his "divisive" comments at a rally in Meerut.

"If the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP have faith in Ali, we too have faith in Bajrang Bali," he had said there.

While Ali is a revered figure in Islam, Bajrang Bali is the other name of Lord Hanuman's.

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Last Updated : Apr 17, 2019, 12:10 PM IST

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