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A senior Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister on Monday said that the sentiment of the people on the Ayodhya issue should be respected.
The construction of Ram temple would restore the glorious history of Ayodhya, said Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, the state religious affairs minister. Everyone must respect the public sentiment, he said and added that the construction work of the Ram temple in Ayodhya must begin at the earliest.
Claiming that the entire world was keeping a watch over the developments, Chaudhary affirmed the country "owes its identity to Lord Ram".
"As soon as a grand Ram temple is built in Ayodhya, it will restore the glorious history of Ayodhya. Subsequently, lakhs of tourists will visit the place and it will eventually give a boost to tourism in the temple town," he said.
The minister said the aim of the recently-organised 'Deepotsav' in Ayodhya was to send a message across the globe that "people should learn a lesson from the life of the Maryada Purushottam, who made India a global superpower".
"Lord Ram is a personality, which is incomparable -- be it as a son or a warrior. Lord Ram is our role model... It was due to Lord Ram that India became a global superpower," Chaudhary said.
The minister claimed that during the Mughal rule, British rule and even after decades of Independence, no attention was paid for the development of Ayodhya.
Menawhile, in its efforts to mount pressure on the government for bringing a law to construct a grand Ram temple, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) recently announced that it would hold several rallies across the country beginning November 25 from Ayodhya.
"The VHP has been demanding that the government bring a law at the earliest to build a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. We will be holding countrywide rallies from November 25 followed by other rallies in December," VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal told IANS.
He said that the organisation will be holding three rallies in Ayodhya, Nagpur and Bengaluru on November 25. It will be followed by a grand rally in the national capital on December 9.
(With inputs from agencies)
