Himachal's Congress minister Vikramaditya to attend Ram temple consecration

'This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this historic day and as a Hindu having faith in 'dev samaj', it is my responsibility to be present on the occasion and witness the 'pran pratishtha' of Lord Ram,' said Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh.

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh on Monday said he will attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, making his stand clear even as top leaders of the party are yet to take a call on the January 22 event.

The public works department minister, who is the son of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh and state party chief Pratibha Singh, thanked the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, for the invitation to attend Ram Lalla’s “pran partishtha” ceremony.

"This is not a political issue and I consider myself fortunate to be among the few invitees from Himachal Pradesh and thanked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for giving this honour to me and my family," Singh told the media here.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this historic day and as a Hindu having faith in 'dev samaj', it is my responsibility to be present on the occasion and witness the 'pran pratishtha' of Lord Ram," he added.

On Saturday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had said he will take a decision “very soon” on whether he will attend the ceremony in Ayodhya. Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have been invited for it.

The PWD minister had earlier on January 4 said that he would visit the Ram Mandir as per his 'convenience'.

Informing that he has received an invitation, Singh then said that he has already appraised Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu about his plans.

"I come from a Hindu devout family and my visit to the temple has nothing to do with politics. I have stated on record that our beliefs have nothing to do with the political ideology and this is a matter of deep faith for me and my family and I would definitely visit the Ram Temple," Singh had said.

Meanwhile, when asked about BJP national president J P Nadda's claim that the saffron party would win all four seats with a bigger margin this time, the minister said that the former is a national leader and has the right to make claims about his party's preparation.

He added the Congress is also fully geared to take on the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of the chief minister and the state party chief.

"So far, we have not taken the swords out of scabbards and all the weapons will be used when the time comes," he said.

In the meantime, the PWD minister while referring to the arrangements for the snow season said that calcium chloride would be sprinkled on the roads to clear them.

Calcium chloride, a crystalline white colour ionic salt, made up of calcium and chlorine melts snow with immediate contact, said Singh, adding the process is economical as the cost per kilometer is Rs 500 on single lane.

For this, the state government has set up a plant of calcium chloride and brine in Shimla from where the material would be supplied and later the process would be replicated in 12 divisions of the state prone to heavy snowfall.