Announcing free pilgrimage to Ayodhya for elderly in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that he wants to serve the people as Shravan Kumar.
“I want to become ‘Shravan Kumar’ for Delhi. Just like him, I will take care of our elderly and would help them visit all pilgrimage sites,” he stated while announcing the inclusion of the temple town of Ayodhya under Mukhyamantri Teerthyatra Yojana during a press briefing.
The announcement was made after the Delhi cabinet approved the decision to include Ayodhya under Chief Minister Pilgrimage Scheme, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Wednesday.
The meeting with the cabinet ministers was held earlier in the day.
“It has been decided in the meeting that those elderly who want to visit Ayodhya for a pilgrimage, Delhi government will sponsor their trip free of cost,” he informed.
“Now Ayodhya has been listed among pilgrimage sites of Jagannath Puri, Ujjain, Shirdi, Amritsar, Dwarka, Tirupati, Rameshwaram, Haridwar, Mathura, and Bodh Gaya where the elderly can visit along with an attendant and all the expense will be looked after by our government,” the CM said.
Kejriwal said that under the scheme, travel, food and lodging are taken care of by the Delhi government.
“The government ensures AC trains for travel and decent stays for food and lodging for the pilgrimage sites,” he added.
The announcement has been made after Kejriwal’s recent trip to Ayodhya this week.
“I was fortunate that I got the chance to bow before Ram Lalla, and I wish everyone must get this chance,” the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said. “Whatever capability I have, I will use that to make more and more people have darshan here,” the minister had said during his Ayodhya visit.
The decision has come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in which Aam Aadmi Party has decided to contest all 403 assembly seats in the 2022 UP polls.