UP CM Yogi flouts Modi’s imposed lockdown

ISLAMABAD: Hindu priest and Chief Minister of India’s biggest state Utter Pradesh (UP) Yogi Adityanath has flouted Indian Prime Minister Modi’s imposed lockdown on its first day by attending a Hindu ceremony on Wednesday.

According to report Modi government banned all religious congregations Tuesday amid a nationwide lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But the order didn’t deter Yogi Adityanath from attending a religious function in Ayodhya, and subsequently courting a controversy. In the early hours of Wednesday, Adityanath took part in an event to shift Lord Ram Lalla the deity installed at the once-disputed Ram temple site in Ayodhya to a new temporary temple on the first day of Navratri within the premises of the site.

Conducted at 4 am, the CM’s presence at the function, where nearly 100 people allegedly gathered, prompted criticism from the opposition parties. If Uttar Pradesh CM who belongs to BJP won’t heed PM’s advice on social distancing to fight coronavirus, then why would the common public, asked UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu.

Aimed at the preventive measure of social distancing, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs ordered Tuesday said all places of worship will remain closed for public until 14 April. No religious congregations will be permitted, without any exception, it added. Amid the row over his temple visit, CM Adityanath took to microblogging site Twitter to term the ritual as the beginning of the first phase of the construction of controversial Ram Temple in Ayodhya. During the disputed function, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath presented a check of Rs 11 lakh to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s General Secretary Champat Rai.