Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hints at Ram Temple visit, says 'Brahmins' consulted on date

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday all but confirmed his visit to the Ram Temple next month, saying "members of the Brahmin community" have been consulted and he would visit Ayodhya.Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, also an MP, will visit the Ram Temple and the Hanumangarhi Temple. (Naeem Ansari)"As for the date, our Pawan Pandey has consulted with many members of the Brahmin community, examined the planets (nakshatras), and drawing upon knowledge of astronomy, has determined a specific date and time, taking into account the positions of the Sun and the Moon," he told reporters, in a tongue-in-cheek response.On November 7, Pandey, a former Ayodhya MLA, said the SP chief would visit Ayodhya on December 12 – an announcement that has spiced up politics in the Hindi heartland state.The ruling BJP has been attacking Yadav for not visiting the Ram Temple because of his "appeasement politics", while the SP chief has been vociferously decrying "chanda chori" at the Ram Temple, accusing the BJP and Sangh outfits of malfeasance.According to Pandey, Yadav and his wife, Dimple Yadav, also an MP, will visit the Ram Temple and the Hanumangarhi Temple.This would be Yadav's first visit to the Ram Temple since its January 2024 inauguration. He last visited Ayodhya, but not the temple, in October 2026 to attend a religious katha.There have been speculations that Yadav is experimenting with "soft Hindutva" to counter the BJP, which has consistently reminded the masses about the police firing in Ayodhya on karsevaks in the 1990s, when the SP government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav was in power.Akhilesh has so far countered all queries about his Ram Temple visit, saying it would happen only after the Kedareshwar Dham, started by his government, in Etawah, is completed.On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that "those who fired on Ram devotees, subjected saints to lathicharge" should visit the Ram Temple only after an apology.On Tuesday, UP BJP chief Pankaj Chaudhary echoed the same demand."If this is not a new political ploy in the name of Lord Ram but genuine repentance, then visit the Ram temple on December 6, not 12," Chaudhary, also a Union minister, said on X.Babri Masjid, where the temple now stands, was demolished by kar sevaks, led by the VHP, on December 6, 1992.