Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday visited Ayodhya. While addressing a a literature festival organised by author Yatindra Mishra at the Maharaja Palace in Ayodhya Dham, Adityanath said he was ready to lose power for Deepotsav to be organised in Ayodhya.
CM Yogi Adityanath shares how Deepotsav began in Ayodhya
During his address, CM Adityanath shared how Deepotsav started in the city. "Though three of my generations were dedicated to Sri Ram Janmabhoomi movement, I had no problem (in visiting Ayodhya). However, the government system is gripped by bureaucracy, and there was a huge section in that bureaucracy that used to say that visiting Ayodhya as a CM would lead to controversy."
"I said that let a controversy take place if it has to. But we need to think about Ayodhya. Then, there was another section which said that if I visited there, there would be talks about Ram Mandir. I asked if I had come here for power. There is no problem, even if I have to lose power for Ram Mandir...I told Awanish Awasthi to go there quietly and see how Deepotsav can be organised there. He came here (Ayodhya), conducted a survey and said that Deepotsav should indeed be organised...Now, Deepotsav, ahead of Diwali, has become like a festival)...," CM added.
'Ayodhya the base of Sanatan Dharma'
CM Yogi was welcomed by applying tilak and offering him a shawl at the Ram temple before he offered prayers amid chanting of Vedic hymns. While addressing the gathering, CM said, "It is true that whoever wrote on Lord Ram went on to become great. Maharishi Narad told Maharishi Valmiki the same thing – if there is any great man to write about on this Earth, it had to be Lord Ram. If you write about Lord Ram, your pen will be blessed," Adityanath said.
Calling Ayodhya the base of Sanatan Dharma in India, Adityanath said, "It is the first 'Puri' (holy pilgrimage site) among the 'Sapta Puri'. It is the land that inspired Sanatan Dharma.