Light diya for Lord Ram this Diwali, work in Ayodhya will start very soon: Yogi Adityanath

In a veiled reference to the ongoing Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday asserted that work for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya will start soon.

"Light a Diya for Lord Ram this time, work there (Ayodhya) will start very soon. We have to take this up after Diwali," Yogi Adityanath said. He was speaking at an event in Bikaner.

His statement comes amid reports that the Chief Minister is likely to announce a 151-metre tall statue of Lord Ram on the banks of Sarayu in Ayodhya. 

BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh have said that plans are afoot to install a statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

Rishikesh Upadhyay, the mayor of Ayodhya Municipal Corporation, told PTI, "There is a proposal to install a 151-metre-tall statue of Lord Ram on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya...Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath may make an announcement on this on the occasion of Dev Deepawali." 

"The place where the statue will be installed will be finalised after the soil is tested. The statue is likely to come up in the vicinity of Sant Tulsidas Ghat. Officials are looking at two-three sites, after which they will pick the best one," Upadhyay, a BJP leader, added.

On Friday, UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey claimed that the Yogi Adityanath has a plan for the Ayodhya issue and the same would be revealed around Diwali.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Saturday said that nobody can stop the state government from erecting a statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

He said that the city belongs to Lord Ram and nothing in the name of Babar will be built there.