Himachal Pradesh declares full holiday on Jan 22 for Ram Mandir ceremony; First Congress-ruled state to do so

NEW DELHI: Himachal Pradesh declared a holiday on January 22 on account of the Prana Pratishta ceremony in Ayodhya Ram Mandir. With this move, HP became the first congress state in the country to announce a holiday on the occasion of the temple ceremony. The Himachal Pradesh government’s declaration is in dichotomy to the congress’s official stand of BJP trying to give the event a political colour. Congress leadership had earlier ridiculed the holiday declared by 12 BJP-ruled states.

Meanwhile, Delhi AIIMS withdrew its decision to close the hospital's OP division on Monday. The decision to give leave to the employees till noon was withdrawn due to criticism. It has been decided to open the OP section tomorrow. The AIIMS authorities have clarified that the leave has been withdrawn considering the possible inconvenience to the patients. Meanwhile, AIIMS in Bhubaneswar has declared a holiday till tomorrow afternoon on account of the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.

Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer Kapil Sibal criticized the AIIMS holiday on account of the Ram temple ceremony. Kapil Sibal wrote on social media that this will never happen in ‘real Rama Rajya’.