Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday arrived here and offered prayers to Ram Lalla at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the controversial site where Babri Masjid was demolished by right wing extremists on December 6, 1992.
After offering prayers to Ram Lalla at the Janmabhoomi, Adityanath visited the banks of Saryu river and offered more prayers.
Adityanath is the first Chief Minister from the state to pray at the Ram Janmabhoomi since 2002. He began his visit by offering prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple first.
The Chief Minister is scheduled to inaugurate a passport office here and hold administrative meetings at the block and district level to discuss the development work.
He is scheduled to leave for Lucknow by 5.30 p.m.
Adityanath's visit comes a day after a CBI special court in Lucknow ordered framing of criminal conspiracy charges against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veterans L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti along with nine others in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.
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Officials, however, told IANS that there was no link between the court proceedings and Adityanath's visit to Ayodhya and said that it was pre-scheduled.
The Chief Minister was supposed to take part in the birthday celebrations of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, head of the Ram Janma Bhoomi Nyaas, which led the Ram temple movement in the 1990s.
On Tuesday, the BJP Chief Minister had called on BJP veterans Advani, Joshi and Bharti, ahead of their court appearance.
--IANS
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