Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in a no-holds-barred attack on Congress, today said Ram Temple could have come up in Ayodhya after Independence had not the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru ordered the removal of the Ram Lalla idol from his birthplace. He also said nobody is stopping the Congress or Samajwadi Party (SP) from attending the January 22 consecration event. "Let them show courage, let them come to the event and utter the slogan 'Jai Shri Ram'", said Yogi.
Replying to questions at the day-long India TV Samvaad conclave in Lucknow today, Yogi Adityanath said: "I am fortunate that my Dada Guru Mahant Divijaynath and my Guru Mahant Avedyanath were the frontline warriors in the struggle for Ramjanmabhoomi. I never met my Dada Guru, but when I go through the documents and correspondence of that period, I find that after Ram Lalla's idol appeared at his birthplace in 1949, the government at that time was trying to remove the idol forcibly. Is it not true that in 1949, the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had given orders to remove Ram Lalla idol after it appeared at the birthplace in Ayodhya?"
Yogi Adityanath said, when the then Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel initiated the reconstruction of Somnath Temple in Gujarat, and when the then President Dr Rajendra Prasad went there to inaugurate the temple, the then head of the government (Nehru) had objected to it. After 496 years, to be precise, Ram Lalla will be installed in his own temple. Remember, how in 1528 on the orders of Babur, his commander desecrated and destroyed Ram temple in Ayodhya. On an average, after every 6-7 years, devotees of Ram fought for the restoration of the temple, more than 76 battles took place and more than 3 lakh people were martyred. Among them were saints, soldiers of local rulers, youths, women and people from north, south, east and west came to Ayodhya to fight. Today it is my fortune that I will take part in the consecration event, for which dozens of generations had to wait."
The Chief Minister said, "The Ram Temple in Ayodhya became the target of foreign invaders because they wanted to attack the very soul of Indian culture. When India became independent, the then rulers should have immediately taken up the restoration of Ram Janmasthan temple in Ayodhya. If you look at the original copy of our Constitution, it depicts the picture of Lord Ram coming from Lanka to Ayodhya in the Pushpak Vimana. The then leaders recognised this, but they did not act accordingly. Had there been no political opposition because of pandering to the ote bank, the Ram Temple issue could have been resolved much earlier. Some people, in order to foster their vote banks, made the communities lock horns against each other."
Asked why he and his party were taking credit for inaugurating the Ram Temple, Yogi replied: "Where are we taking the credit? We are going there as Ram devotee and Ram sevak. Who stopped the Congress, Samajwadi Party and other parties from going there? All of them got invitations from Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Teerth Trust. Let them all come as Ram bhakts. If I can utter Jai Shri Ram, let them utter the same. Let them show the courage."
Hitting out at his detractors, Yogi said: "You can't have it both ways. You will put tilak on your forehead inside your home, and when you come out, you wear the 'gol topi' (Islamic cap) and move around. How can one do both? Why are you trying to hide your identity? This duvidha (dilemma) is the reason for your durgati (decline). We have no such duvidha. Whatever we wear inside, we also wear the same outside, anywhere in India and even in foreign lands. We won't fool people by wearing different dresses at different places. This is not a rang manch (theatre). We should come to the real ground (vaastavik dharaatal) and speak. Let them come to Ayodhya. We are ready to welcome all."
Asked if the BJP was not using this event to consolidate its Hindu vote bank, Yogi replied: "Let me tell you frankly. If I had not joined the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, I would not have become a sanyasi. It was due to that movement that I came in contact with my Guruji Mahant Avedyanath. It is because of the blessings of Prabhu (Lord), that we are a part of this event as a small sevak (servitor). After all, who stopped them (Congress and opposition leaders) from coming? Who stopped them? Is it not true that in 1949, the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had given orders to remove Ram Lalla idol after it appeared at the birthplace in Ayodhya? Is it not true that Congress had always been an obstacle in the Ram temple movement? But it sank because of duvidha (dilemma). Everybody knows the charitra (character) of Samajwadi Party. People are also seeing the charitra of other parties. Even if I had not been the Chief Minister I would have taken an active part in the event and would have loved to sit on a chair in the back row feeling proud of being a part of this movement."
"This is not a time for taking credit. Ram Lalla is Parampita Parameshwar (Almighty God). He is omnipresent. The installation of his idol symbolizes the restoration of India's self-pride. Every Indian should join this event," Yogi said.
On Rahul Gandhi's remark that the consecration event is a political program of BJP-RSS, Yogi Adityanath said: "Let the election dates be announced. They will visit all the temples. Let God grant them sadbuddhi (wisdom)."
The Chief Minister said, "Building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was as difficult as building the Ram Setu during Lord Ram's Tretayug age. Had there been no government of Narendra Modi, building this temple in Ayodhya would have been impossible."
On the redevelopment of Ayodhya city, Yogi Adityanath said, "Nobody had planned four-lane roads, an international airport, a cruise service and double railway tracks in Ayodhya 10 years ago. Five years from now, nobody will be able to recognize the new Ayodhya. Ayodhya is being linked by flights to five cities. The Panck Kosi, 4 Kosi and 84 Kosi Parikrama is taking a grand shape. Work on Rs 31,000 crore worth of projects is going on. Ayodhya will be developed as a solar city."
Asked about his forecast for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this year's general elections, Yogi said, "Modi will become the Prime Minister for the third time. Under his leadership, our party will score a victory bigger than that of 2019."
