Kejriwal trying to 'wash away his sins' by offering prayers at Ram Janmabhoomi site, says Gambhir

BJP MP Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday targeted Arvind Kejriwal over his Ayodhya visit, alleging the Delhi chief minister was practising "double standards" in politics and trying to "wash away his sins" by offering prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

No immediate reaction was available from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party over Gambhir's remark.

Delhi CM Kejriwal offered prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya on Tuesday and said his government will include the temple town of Ayodhya in the Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme.

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"All of us are aware of what (Arvind) Kejriwal and his associates have stated regarding the Ram temple issue on several occasions. Now he is trying to wash away his sins by going to Ayodhya," Gambhir, the BJP MP of East Delhi said in a statement.

"Arvind Kejriwal is another name for hypocrisy and double standards in politics. In some ways, parties like the AIMIM are better than Kejriwal because they are clear with their communal agenda and work accordingly," the cricketer-turned-politician charged.

Led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), a Telangana-based party, is looking to expand its base in other states and has decided to contest the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Kejriwal said a special cabinet meeting is scheduled in Delhi on Wednesday in which Ayodhya will be included in the list of the free pilgrimage tour programme.

Now the people of Delhi will be able to visit Ram Janmabhoomi as well, he added.

Under the 'Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana' for senior citizens, the Delhi government bears the expenses of about 77,000 pilgrims every year. Delhi residents above the age of 60 are covered under this scheme.

Kejriwal who is also the national convener of the AAP said that if his party forms government in Uttar Pradesh, the residents of the state will also get free pilgrimage to Ayodhya.

The AAP has decided to contest next year's UP Assembly elections.

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