Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Jaya Narayana Mishra of the BJP, has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to declare January 22 as a public holiday.
The consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be held on that day.
In a letter to Patnaik, Mishra said: “I would request you to kindly declare 22nd January 2024 as a public holiday so that all the devotees of Lord Sri Ram will be able to take part in it.”
Earlier, the state government has declared January 17 as a public holiday for the grand opening of the Heritage Corridor Project at Jagannath Temple in Puri.
As a part of the project, 800 metres around the 12th-century Jagannath temple has been redeveloped. Several amenities have been built for devotees as a part of it.
Mishra said that the grand consecration ceremony and inauguration of Ayodhya’s Sri Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled for January 22.
“….The whole nation is taking part of it. This occasion is also a matter of joy and great happiness for the people of Odisha,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati has urged the state government to close all the liquor shops across the state on January 22 as a mark of respect towards Lord Ram.
BJD leader and former minister Rabi Nanda also made a similar demand and urged people to refrain from taking non-veg food January 22.
The Odisha unit of VHP and various other organisations also demanded declaration as a holiday and closure of liquor shops on that day.
Meanwhile, the Kendrapara district administration Tuesday ordered the closure of all liquor outlets on January 17 and January 22 in view of the inauguration of the heritage project in Puri and Ram Mandir Consecration Ceremony in Ayodhya respectively.
PTI
