Himachal CM Sukhu welcomes New Year as wishes pours in from people

"Besides his cabinet colleagues, union ministers and chief ministers of various states, former chief ministers, MLAs, chairman and vice chairman of various boards and corporations, senior party leaders, bureaucrats, heads of Departments and other senior officers wished the Chief Minister on the occasion," as per a press statement from the Chief Minister's office.

Earlier in the day, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that he will attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22, even if he is not invited to the event by the temple trust.

"If the invitation comes or not, we shall go there; there is no second thought about attending the ceremony," CM Sukhu told ANI.

"We follow the path of Lord Ram. It should not be given a political colour," he added.

Ayodhya Ram Temple Trust has invited Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, its president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, for the consecration ceremony. But the party has yet to decide whether they will participate or not.

Apart from political and religious leaders, Bollywood actors, including Amitabh Bachchan, have been invited to the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Simultaneously, the Prime Minister urged all pilgrimage sites and temples in the country to launch cleanliness campaigns from January 14 to January 22. He emphasised that Lord Ram belongs to the entire nation and asked that there be no litter around our temples or pilgrimage sites when he arrives.

As per temple officials, the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya's Ram Mandir will be held over seven days, starting on January 16. On the final day, January 22, after the morning puja, the deity of Ram Lala will be consecrated in 'Mrigashira Nakshatra' in the afternoon. (ANI)