Ayodhya (UP) | Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann along with their family members offered prayers at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday.
"Today I had the good fortune to have the darshan of Ram Lalla. I felt immense peace after offering prayers at the shrine that cannot be described in words," Kejriwal later told reporters.
The AAP leaders, their spouses and other family members spent around one hour and 15 minutes at the Ram temple.
"It is a matter of good fortune for the entire world that a beautiful and grand temple has been constructed in Ayodhya and lakhs of Ram devotees are coming every day to offer worship," Kejriwal said.
Both the chief ministers arrived in the city by air this afternoon.
Though Kejriwal, who is the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was invited for the January 22 Pran Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla, he had said he wanted to visit it later with his family.
Kejriwal and Mann were hosted over lunch by Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, AAP UP president Sabhajeet Singh said.
Speaking to media persons at Ayodhya airport before returning to Delhi, Kejriwal said, "We have prayed at the temple for happiness, peace and health of everyone."
Mann said India is a country of multiple religious faiths where all festivals are celebrated together.
"At the Ram temple, we prayed for peace and brotherhood in the country. India is a bouquet of flowers of different hues each with its own unique fragrance," the Punjab chief minster said.
In a post on X, Arvind Kejriwal said, "Reaching Ayodhya today with my parents and my wife, I had the privilege of having the divine darshan of Ramlala ji in the Shri Ram temple. Bhagwant ji and his family were also present on this occasion.
"Everyone together had darshan of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram Ji and prayed for the progress of the country and the welfare of all humanity. May Lord Shri Ramchandra ji bless everyone. Jai Shri Ram."
He also shared photographs of the visit to the temple.
An idol Lord Ram was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on January 22, in a landmark event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As the inauguration of the temple marked the culmination of a decades-long campaign, mostly under the Hindutva banner, Modi said it was the advent of a new era.
Lakhs of people watched on television at their homes and in neighbourhood temples the 'pran pratishtha' ceremony held just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and 34 years after BJP veteran L K Advani's iconic 'Mandir Wahin Banayenge ' speech during his Rath Yatra.
