Centre didn’t allow Delhi govt's event to see off pilgrims leaving for Ayodhya, claims Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the Centre did not allow an event planned by the AAP government at the Safdarjung railway station here to see off the first free train for Ayodhya with 1,000 senior citizens.The chief minister flagged off the train amid chants of Jai Shree Ram by devotees.Delhi government had organised a programme at the station to send off the pilgrims.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that the Centre did not allow an event planned by the AAP government at the Safdarjung railway station here to see off the first free train for Ayodhya with 1,000 senior citizens.

The chief minister flagged off the train amid chants of ''Jai Shree Ram'' by devotees.

''Delhi government had organised a programme at the station to send off the pilgrims. The central government refused to allow the programme to proceed. Now, even the media are not being allowed to talk to the pilgrims. I want to tell the central government that this type of behaviour is not right. But anyway, may god bless you,'' Kejriwal tweeted. The train departed from the station carrying a batch of over 1,000 passengers from Delhi. The pilgrims were brought to the railway station by buses and a programme was organised there by the Delhi government to send them off. ''Many senior citizens have gone to Ayodhya today to have darshan of Shri Ram Lalla. This is something wonderful and it is a matter of happiness for all of us. I came to meet all these people here,” Kejriwal told reporters.

“If someone gets a chance to go on a pilgrimage in old age, then their happiness knows no bounds. Everyone is going for Ayodhya darshan today. From there they will bring blessings for Delhi and its people,'' he said.

Kejriwal said the Delhi government’s free pilgrimage scheme had to be stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has been restarted now as the situation has improved.

“Under this, the first train has left for Ayodhya today. Now, the trains will go everywhere, including other pilgrimage sites like Rameshwaram, Puri, Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Ajmer Sharif. About one thousand pilgrims are going on this pilgrimage today,'' he added.

The chief minister also spoke to the pilgrims and took stock of the arrangements.

Under the ''Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana'', the Delhi government bears the expenditure of the entire pilgrimage of a number of senior citizens to 13 circuits, including places like Puri, Rameswaram, Shirdi, Mathura, Haridwar and Tirupati.

Any resident of the national capital aged 60 or above can avail the scheme after acquiring a certificate from their local MLA, stating that they live in the legislator’s constituency.

The Delhi government facilitates these tours through the IRCTC, offering AC trains and AC hotel rooms to the devotees. The entire expense of leaving from home until returning - which includes travelling by air-conditioned trains, AC hotel stays, meals, local travel and more - is borne by the Delhi government. Since its formal launch, a total of 35,080 beneficiaries have travelled under the scheme. An insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh is also provided to the devotees.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)