Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said he plans to take his cabinet as well as MLAs and Lok Sabha MPs from the state for 'darshan' to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya later and, hence, was not attending the idol consecration ceremony on January 22.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Tata Marathon held here in the morning, the CM said, "Instead of a handful of people attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya, I would like to take all state cabinet members as well as MLAs and parliamentarians later." "The temple is about our faith and pride. I would also like to take officials and devotees to the Ram Temple," he added.

Shinde said ahead of Monday's ceremony, instructions have been given to officials to carry out a cleanliness drive in temples and also decorate them with lights.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis too had told reporters in Nagpur that he would visit Ayodhya in February for "Ram seva".

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.