Eknath Shinde to visit Ayodhya for Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has accepted the invite to attend the idol consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has accepted the invite to attend the idol consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

Mr. Shinde was given the invite by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Ajay Joshi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sanjay Dhavalikar, who met the CM at his residence in Thane on Monday.

Later, addressing a rally of his Shiv Sena faction cadre at Rajapur in Ratnagiri district (in the Konkan region), Mr. Shinde took aim at his detractors, particularly the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) by remarking that those who had mocked PM Narendra Modi for ‘failing’ to give a date for the opening of the Ram Temple had now been given a befitting reply as the PM had ensured that the Temple had not just been built but that a date too given for its consecration.

“The Opposition used to mock Mr. Modi, claiming that the PM only did empty talk about the Ram Temple… but he not only constructed the temple, but gave a definite date for its inauguration. This [Ram Mandir inauguration] is not a political issue, but a matter of pride,” Mr. Shinde said.

He further justified his revolt in June 2022 — which vertically split Uddhav Thackeray’s party and toppled the Thackeray-led MVA government — by alleging that the latter had tarnished his father, Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s, ideals.

“We took this decision when they started taking decisions against development and against Balasaheb’s ideals. If we had really taken the wrong decision, then would 40 MLAs, 13 MPs and so many people have joined us?” said Mr. Shinde, remarking that anything could have happened during his revolt and that he broke away from Uddhav Thackeray to preserve the Shiv Sena’s original ideals.

“More than power, our party’s ideology is important… We are legatees of Bal Thackeray’s ideals,” the CM said.