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Faizabad district is now Ayodhya, declares UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Adityanath was anticipated to announce a Lord Ram statue or Ram Mandir

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UP CM Yogi Adityanath performs ‘aarti’ of aristises dressed as Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman at the Deepotsav in Ayodhya on Tuesday
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After much suspense, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Diwali eve stopped short of making any announcement on expected lines regarding the construction of a grand statue of Lord Rama or of the Ram Mandir. Instead, he named Faizabad district (capital of erstwhile Awadh Kingdom) as Ayodhya on the lines of Allahabad that was renamed as Prayagraj a few days ago.

Adityanath made a slew of other announcements such as the establishment of a medical college in the name of Raja Dashrath (Rama's father), an airport that would be named after Lord Rama and constructing Ram ki Paidi on the lines of Hari ki Paidi in Haridwar.

However, several people who had come to Ayodhya expecting big ticket announcements regarding construction of Lord Rama's statue or Ram Mandir, returned shocked and dismayed. Rumours were rife that Adityanath would announce the construction of a bigger statue of Ram than the just inaugurated 182-metre high statue of Sardar Patel in Narmada district of Gujarat.

Known for making fiery speeches, Adityanath took care not to mention anything controversial in the presence of the First Lady of South Korea, who was present at the Deepotsav (lighting of lamp) ceremony in Ayodhya, said to be celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman after 14 years in exile.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking India to great heights and having done a lot for Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath said, "It is important to connect with our glorious past. Ayodhya is the fulcrum of that past and is known all over the world because of Maryadapurshottam Bhagwan Shri Ram... It is befitting that Faizabad will now be known as Ayodhya."

He asked people to not limit Lord Rama only to chants and slogan, but to pave the way to establish Ram Rajya that PM Modi has taken a lead in, by opening savings bank accounts of for 36 crore poor people, giving free cooking gas connections and free housing to eight crore families and the biggest insurance scheme Ayushmann Bharat to 10 crore families or 50 crore people.

The First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook, was present at the Deepotsva ceremony, among dignitaries from several other countries. Also present were Uttar Pradesh cabinet ministers, Governors of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and several Hindu seers. She made a short speech stating how the Ramayana is a strong thread that runs between her country and India and makes their relation special.

She also lighted a big lamp along the banks of Saryu river and watched Ramlila presented by artists from six countries, including Russia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea and India.

Thereafter, volunteers lighted three lakh one thousand one hundred and fifty two (3,01,152) diyas on the ghats of Saryu. They stood guard to keep them alight for at least 45 continuous minutes to enter into the Guinnes book of world records.

The event started with artists dressed as Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman alighting from a helicopter designed to resemble the mythological Pushpak Viman.

The opposition parties did not mince words to describe Adityanath's Diwali show as an extravaganza at the cost of the state exchequer to gain political mileage for the coming elections.

Cong Slams Event

"Ajay Bisht (Adityanath), PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah know that governance has been a disaster during the last four-and-a-half years. They want to take people's mind away from their failures on the economic front and corruption. They are now doubly troubled by Karnataka bypoll results. This divisive policy won't help," said Congress spokesperson, Sanjay Jha.

 

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