The Centre has declared a half-day at all its establishments on January 22 to allow employees to watch the temple consecration in Ayodhya live on television and participate in the religious events to be organised by various groups on that day.

Central government offices have been told to start work only at 2.30pm on January 22.

An office memorandum from the department of personnel and training said the half-day closure would apply to all central government offices, central institutions and central industrial establishments.

Sources said the measure had been taken in response to the “overwhelming sentiment and demands of employees to participate in the celebrations associated with the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya Ram Mandir”.

Several BJP-ruled states — such as Haryana, Goa and Madhya Pradesh — have already declared a public holiday on January 22, building pressure on others to follow suit. Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have announced the closure of all educational institutions on that day. A public holiday has been declared on Monday in BJD-ruled
Odisha.

Many Opposition parties allege that the RSS-BJP have turned the temple inauguration into a political event, meant to showcase Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the general election.