A day after a massive rush at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised all his Cabinet colleagues on Wednesday to refrain from visiting the holy city for now and to plan their pilgrimage from mid-February onwards. Besides, well-placed sources in the government and within the ruling party BJP told The Pioneer that each party parliamentarian and party office bearer has been given a target to facilitate an Ayodhya visit for people within their constituency or jurisdiction, particularly for women and elderly Ram Bhakts.

Sources mentioned that during the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister suggested that, due to the heavy rush and to prevent inconvenience to the public caused by VIPs with protocols, Cabinet members should avoid visiting at this time. The Prime Minister’s advisory came after devotees flocked to Ram Mandir in huge numbers a day after the praan pratishthaa ceremony on January 22.

The ministers will visit the Ram Mandir for darshan later from February onwards, sources said. Sources also mentioned that party MPs, as well as the entire Council of Ministers, will “facilitate” at least 2,500 people/devotees from their constituency for the Ayodhya pilgrimage.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls likely to be held in April-May, the same pattern to enable a large number of visitors to Ayodhya could be replicated by the State ministers and leaders as well.

The Ram Temple at Ayodhya has been a major poll plank and included in the party’s manifesto for the BJP for three decades, along with the abrogation of Article 370, and both processes have been completed.

This was the second time that the PM had to urge refraining from visiting Ayodhya, with the first instance occurring in December after he inaugurated several projects, including the airport and railway station.

On December 30, anticipating a large turnout, Modi had suggested that people, out of emotion, should refrain from visiting Ayodhya on the praan prathishtaa day and instead plan their pilgrimage a couple of days later. In the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Modi also inquired about the feedback from the public after the inauguration of the highly-awaited Ram mandir in Ayodhya.

An idol of the new Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, with PM Modi leading the event. The ceremony was live-streamed across the country.

Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister Anurag Thakur shared that the Union Cabinet congratulated PM Modi on the successful praan pratishthaa ceremony.

Sources said that while reading out the resolution adopted during the Cabinet meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that PM Modi fulfilled a centuries-old dream of the people. “The resolution stated, ‘In 1947, the 'body' of the country gained independence, but its Pran Prathishta happened on January 22,’” Rajnath added.

Several thousand people, including top politicians, businessmen, sportspersons, and celebrities, were invited to the consecration ceremony. The invitees later had a darshan of the deity soon after the consecration ceremony ended. For the general public, the doors of the temple opened on Tuesday morning, with nearly five lakh devotees visiting the temple on the first day.

Access for vehicles on specific roads leading to the temple has been temporarily suspended, requiring devotees to approach on foot. A comprehensive security plan, involving personnel from the UP Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF), and private security guards, has been implemented, with over 8,000 police officers assigned for crowd management in Ayodhya over the last few days.

Uttar Pradesh DG Law and Order Prashant Kumar mentioned that crowd management has been improved, and devotees are being facilitated for darshan in a very structured way. “Several channels/queues have been arranged so that all visitors can spend time at the temple. At the same time, there is an appeal that people should be patient and not hurry or rush to the holy city, particularly the elderly and the divyangs. The administration and law & order have made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims,” Prashant Kumar told The Pioneer.