Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh to attend Ram temple consecration

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 Congress leaders are yet to take a call on the January 22 event.

The public works department minister, who is the son of former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh and state party chief Pratibha Singh, thanked the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for the invitation to attend Ram Lalla's pran pratishtha ceremony.

"This is not a political issue and I consider myself fortunate to be among the few invitees from Himachal Pradesh and thank the RSS and VHP for giving this honour to me and my family," Singh told reporters here.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of this historic day and as a Hindu having faith in the 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 said he will soon take a decision on whether he will attend the ceremony in Ayodhya.

Kharge, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, have been invited for the event.

Singh had, on January 4, said he would visit the Ram temple according to his "convenience".

Informing that he has received an invitation, Singh had said he has already apprised Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of his plans.

"I come from a devout Hindu 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 any political ideology and this is a matter of deep faith for me and my family. I would definitely visit the Ram temple," the Congress leader had said.

Asked about Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda's claim that his party would win all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh with a bigger margin this time, Singh said the former is a national leader and has every right to make claims about his party's poll preparations.

He asserted that the Congress is fully geared up to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls under the leadership of the chief minister and the state party chief.

"So far, we have not taken the swords out of the scabbards and all the weapons will be used to shed blood when the time comes," Singh said in a lighter vein.

Referring to the arrangements for the snow season, the PWD minister said calcium chloride would be sprinkled on the roads to clear the snow.

Calcium chloride, a crystalline white-colour ionic salt made up of calcium and chlorine, melts snow on immediate contact, he said, adding that the process is economical as the cost per kilometre is Rs 500 on a 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 subsequently, the process would be replicated in 12 divisions of the hill state prone to heavy snowfall.