Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced that Ayodhya is now included in ‘Mukhya Mantri Teerth Yatra Yojna’ which is the Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens.

He added that the pilgrimage scheme is likely to resume within a month as the situation gradually normalises. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the pilgrimage scheme was stopped for more than a year.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kejriwal offered prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya and said, “I was fortunate that I got the chance to bow before Ram Lalla and I wish everyone must get this chance. Whatever capability I have, I will use that to make more and more people have ‘darshan’ here.”

Under the Delhi Chief Minister’s Teerth Yatra Yojana, the residents of Delhi can travel to pilgrimage sites such as Vaishno Devi, Rameshwaram, Dwarka Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, and Vrindavan free-of-cost.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicated that the move was just a "political gimmick" ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

Ved Prakash Gupta, the BJP MLA from Ayodhya Sadar, said, “AAP was earlier opposing the Ram Mandir. The Delhi chief minister had even suggested that a university be made instead of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Now they are talking about Lord Ram and seeking his blessings.”

Image Courtesy: PTI