'Apologise to Ram bhakts first': Yogi Adityanath on Akhilesh Yadav's Ayodhya Ram Temple visit plan

His remarks came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, would visit the temple on December 12.

The proposed visit would mark Akhilesh's first trip to the shrine, which was built following decades of legal proceedings over the disputed site where the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992.

Speaking at the 10th edition of Ayodhya's Deepotsav, an annual celebration marked by the lighting of thousands of earthen lamps, Adityanath made a pointed reference to the police firing on Ram Temple volunteers in 1990.

"Those who bloodied Ayodhya are also remembering Ayodhya," the chief minister said. "Let them come to Ayodhya, but they should seek forgiveness from Ram bhakts (devotees)."

Without directly naming Akhilesh Yadav, Adityanath added that Lord Ram was merciful and would forgive everyone.

"The Lord is very kind. He will forgive everyone. The Lord does not take long to end the arrogance of power," he said in Hindi.

Addressing the gathering, the chief minister also referred to the events of 1990, saying: "Given the history you, Ram devotees, have created, no one will now dare to open fire on the devotees in Ayodhya."

Adityanath's remarks referred to the police firing on 'kar sevaks' in 1990, when volunteers attempting to reach the Babri Masjid were stopped during the movement to build a Ram Temple at the site.

A Samajwadi Party government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's father, was in power in Uttar Pradesh at the time.

The Chandra Shekhar government at the Centre put the death toll at 15.

Mulayam Singh Yadav subsequently gave different figures, while the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva organisations have claimed that more than 50 people were killed.

The incident has remained a recurring point of political contention between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, particularly during election campaigns and debates over the Ram Temple movement.

Akhilesh hits back over temple donation theft

Akhilesh Yadav responded to the chief minister's remarks later on Saturday, shifting attention to allegations of theft involving donations made to the Ram Temple.

In a post on X in Hindi, the SP chief said: "People of Ayodhya are asking the respected chief minister when we will separate truth from fiction in the theft of donations, and whether it'll be done at all."

He also alleged that those primarily responsible for the theft had not been arrested.

Akhilesh has repeatedly accused the BJP of encouraging communal divisions.

However, he has maintained that the Ayodhya land dispute was settled after the Supreme Court awarded the disputed land to the Hindu side in its 2019 verdict.

The SP leader has not visited the Ram Temple since its construction.

He had previously offered several explanations for delaying the visit, including his stated intention to go only after the completion of the Kedareshwar Dham temple in Etawah, his party's home district.

The temple is now reportedly nearing completion.

December 12 visit plan announced

SP leader Pawan Pandey announced that Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, would visit the Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi on December 12 to offer prayers.

Pandey has once again been named the party's candidate from the Ayodhya Assembly constituency for the state elections due by February 2027.

Akhilesh was last in Ayodhya on October 8 to attend a Bhagwat Katha organised by Pandey.

However, he did not visit the Ram Temple during that trip.

The proposed visit has drawn criticism from BJP leaders.

Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary said Akhilesh Yadav "goes to offer prayers when he sees an opportunity" and should "refrain from constantly insulting Sanatan Dharma".

State minister Danish Azad Ansari also accused the Samajwadi Party of raising the Ayodhya issue with "an agenda of misleading the public as elections are near".

The announcement of Akhilesh Yadav's planned temple visit comes amid a month-long political exchange between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party over who should contest the next Assembly election from Ayodhya.

During his October 8 visit to the temple town, Akhilesh had challenged Adityanath to contest the election from Ayodhya himself.

The chief minister responded two days later at a rally in Balrampur, extending a direct challenge to the SP president.

"Akhilesh ji, I make you an offer. Come, you file your nomination, and so will I," Adityanath said on October 10.

Akhilesh has since announced that he will not contest the upcoming Assembly elections and will instead focus on campaigning across Uttar Pradesh.