Himachal minister deviates from Congress line, reaches Ayodhya for Ram temple event

Shimla, Jan 22 (PTI) Deviating from his party line, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, reached Ayodhya on Monday to attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple.

Another Congress MLA from the state Sudhir Sharma also reached Ayodhya for the ceremony.

On receiving the invitation to the ceremony earlier, Singh had promised to attend it, calling it a lifetime opportunity but later changed his stand with the Congress high command declining the invite to the event.

He had then said that he would visit the temple whenever possible but did not make it clear if he would attend the ceremony on January 22.

Singh arrived in Lucknow on Sunday from Chandigarh. The Himachal Pradesh public works minister was declared a state guest by the Uttar Pradesh government. He also met with his counterpart in the state Jitin Prasada. PTI