'Apologise to Ram devotees before visiting Ayodhya': CM Yogi's sharp message to Akhilesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has turned Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's proposed visit to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya into a fresh political flashpoint, demanding that those who once opposed the Ram Janmabhoomi movement apologise to devotees and saints before entering the shrine.

Without naming Akhilesh or the Samajwadi Party directly, Adityanath on Saturday invoked the police firing on kar sevaks in the 1990s, when Mulayam Singh Yadav was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, and accused previous governments of neglecting Ayodhya and mistreating those associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

‘Those who had neglected and insulted (Ayodhya), who had opened fire on Ram devotees and subjected saints to lathicharge, should certainly come to Ayodhya, but only after apologising,’ Adityanath said while addressing the 10th edition of Deepotsav in the temple town.

He added that those planning to visit should seek forgiveness from Ram devotees and saints and repent for their past actions.

The remarks came on a politically significant day, hours after former Samajwadi Party MLA Pawan Pandey announced that Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, would visit Ayodhya on December 12.

The couple are scheduled to offer prayers at the Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi, interact with saints and seek their blessings.

The proposed visit will mark Akhilesh's first trip to the Ram Temple since its January 2024 consecration.

The BJP has repeatedly criticised the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister for not visiting the shrine, accusing him of approaching the Ram Temple issue through the prism of appeasement politics.

Akhilesh's Ayodhya visit ahead of 2027 polls

The December 12 visit announcement has added another dimension to the political contest in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for early 2027.

Pandey, who has once again been named the Samajwadi Party's candidate from Ayodhya, said Akhilesh would visit the holy city with his family and offer prayers at both temples.

The SP chief, however, has previously questioned the BJP and organisations associated with the Ram Temple movement, raising allegations of chanda chori, or misappropriation of donations collected for the temple.

He also said he would visit the Ram Temple after the completion of Kedareshwar Dham, a temple the Samajwadi Party is constructing in Etawah.

Adityanath's latest remarks appear to be an attempt to bring the party's historical position on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement back into the political conversation as Akhilesh prepares for his visit.

Yogi takes aim at political critics of Ram movement

At the Deepotsav event, Adityanath also criticised political leaders who, according to him, had opposed the Ram Janmabhoomi movement but were now attempting to associate themselves with religious gatherings.

‘Those who used to leave the streets of Ayodhya soaked in blood are today unable even to recall their own past,’ he said.

In what appeared to be a reference to Akhilesh's recent participation in a religious discourse in Ayodhya, the chief minister questioned the conduct of certain political leaders at religious events.

He accused them of disregarding the traditions and decorum associated with religious gatherings, comparing their conduct to that of participants at a mushaira, an Urdu poetry gathering.

Adityanath also targeted those who had challenged Lord Ram's existence during the legal proceedings over the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, calling their eventual acceptance of his existence an ideological victory.

‘Those who had assembled an army of lawyers in courts to deny the existence of Lord Ram have at least now acquired the wisdom to accept his existence,’ he said.

Ram is India's national consciousness, says CM

Beyond the political criticism, Adityanath used his Deepotsav address to underline Lord Ram's religious and cultural significance, describing him as the embodiment of India's identity, values and self-respect.

He said Ayodhya, one of the seven sacred cities known as the Saptapuris in Hindu scriptures, had endured centuries of challenges but remained protected by devotees, saints, Naga ascetics, Nihang Sikhs, and people from different sections of society.

Recalling the long Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the chief minister said people once doubted whether Ram Lalla would ever return to his birthplace.

He credited the movement, led by figures such as Ashok Singhal and supported by revered saints, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, for the temple's consecration.

Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, and other dignitaries attended the Deepotsav celebrations.

With Akhilesh's proposed temple visit now drawing a pointed response from the chief minister, Ayodhya is once again emerging as a significant political battleground ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.