West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not participate in the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22 and will visit Kalighat temple in Kolkata.
The Trinamool Congress chairperson will hold a ‘Sarva Dharm Rally’ with the participation of people from different communities.
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The procession will cover places like temples, churches, gurudwara and mosques. The Chief Minister will address the people at Park Circus Maidan.
The Trinamool Congress will organise rallies in every block with the theme of ‘Sarva Dharma Samanwaya’ (Harmony of all religions).
The Trinamool Congress chairperson’s decision to skip the Ram Mandir event comes at a time when leaders of the Congress party as well as many parties in the INDIA Opposition alliance have decided to give the January 22 event a miss. The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has started an aggressive campaign in the State ahead of the Lok Sabha polls on the Ram Mandir issue.
In another development, a row has erupted between Metro Railway authorities and the West Bengal Government over the former proposal to dismantle a part of the skywalk at Dakshineswar temple for the smooth operation of Metro Railway services.
Ms. Banerjee has refused to make any alterations to the Dakshineswar temple skywalk. The skywalk was constructed in 2018 with a budget of ₹80 crore.
