Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday asserted that Ram temple will be constructed at “the very place, the very
spot” where the deity was believed to have been born, and there should be no confusion regarding this.
Addressing booth-level BJP workers here, the firebrand leader explained his Government’s controversial city-renaming acts, saying pilgrims visiting the birthplace of Lord Rama now visit Ayodhya and not Faizabad district and those who participate in the ongoing Kumbh festival were coming to Prayagraj and not Allahabad.
Adityanath was speaking at a meeting of shakti kendra prabharis (micro-level election managers) drawn from four Lok Sabha segments of Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Kishanganj, all falling in the Seemanchal area which has a sizable Muslim population.
“Much is going to happen in UP in the time to come. Do not worry, we have made it clear that the temple of Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram will be constructed at the very place, at the very spot. Let there be no confusion,” he said, amid a thunderous applause from party workers.
Stating that Bihar was the birth place of Sita Mata, Adityanath came down heavily on the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, saying the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led party had made it a matter of shame to be called a Bihari.
He praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi for slowly changing the state’s perception.
A similar change of perception has been effected by the Narendra Modi Government at the national level and I was told by a visitor at the recently-held Pravasi Sammelan in Varanasi that they are proud of the new-found identity under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Adityanath said.
“We are not like them (the Opposition) who side with those who speak in favor of splitting up the country. We believe in slaying 100 soldiers across the border for every jawan of ours who is killed,” he said.