After asking people to draw inspiration from Lord Ram and claiming that “a very good news” awaits all, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday hit out at the reaction of opposition parties, saying that “all will respect” the Supreme Court’s decision on the title suit over the 2.77 acre of disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land, being heard daily by the apex court.
“The court has been continuously holding hearings on the issue and all people will respect the court’s decision,” the Chief Minister told a news conference in Gorakhpur on Monday.
Yogi Adityanath made the remark while replying to a question over some opposition parties objecting to his remarks.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had objected to his remarks, asking how does the chief minister know in advance what the apex court would decide on the Ayodhya issue.
Asked about his “very good news” remark, the Chief Minister said it merely pertained to a “grand Deepotsav” to be held in Ayodhya on Diwali which would be celebrated this year by lighting more than 5.50 lakh diyas on the banks of the river Saryu.
“It was on Ayodhya regarding the Deepotsav event to be held there,” Yogi Adityanath said in reply to a question on his remarks made on Saturday.
While clarifying his “very good news awaits all” remark, the Chief Minister also accused the opposition of practising destructive politics on Ayodhya.
“The opposition practices destructive politics on the Ayodhya issue. The centuries old controversy on Ram temple must end now,” the Chief Minister said.
“In Ayodhya, traditions were abolished during the tenure of previous governments. Now Ramlila is staged by people from abroad in Ayodhya. Representatives from many countries participate in this event.
“Like the previous year, the state government is organising a grand Deepotsav this year too. This year, the festival of Deepawali will be celebrated by lighting more than 5.50 lakh diyas on the banks of river Saryu,” the Chief Minister elaborated.
Yogi Adityanath also targeted the opposition for boycotting the special session of UP legislature, saying they “do not deserve to show” their faces in the House as they “insulted” Mahatma Gandhi by skipping the session.
“By boycotting the special session of the Assembly held on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, they have insulted Gandhiji,” he said, and added, “The opposition does not deserve to show its face in the House”.
For skipping the special session, the Chief Minister also accused the opposition of being least concerned about issues of poverty, health, education and social welfare.
Talking of various government welfare schemes, Yogi Adityanath said the Central and state governments have done lot of good work for the uplift of girls.
“Schemes like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ have brought dignity for them,” he said.
About the Centre’s flagship Ujjwala Yojana providing for free LPG gas connections to below poverty line household women, the Chief Minister said the work on the scheme was being done at a fast pace.
Moreover a sum of Rs 51,000 was being given for the marriage of poor girls, the Chief Minister said.
“For the welfare of girl child, the state government is going to launch Kanya Sumangala Yojana. An amount of Rs 15,000 will be given for the empowerment of girls under the scheme,” he said.
Yogi Adityanath stressed that Navratra was the festival for taking pledge to respect women power and ensuring their safety.
Earlier, soon after performing ‘kanya puja’ on Mahanavmi, Yogi Adityanath claimed that worshipping women was a part of Indian culture and traditions. He also conveyed the message that the state government would continue to ensure safety for women and mentioned various steps being undertaken by the Central and the state government for the welfare of women.
It may be mentioned that ‘kanya puja’ has been a part of tradition at Gorakshapeeth. As Gorakshapeethadhishwar, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath performed all the traditions with full dedication. A huge ‘paraat’ (large brass plate) was placed in front of Yogi Adityanath and he washed the feet of nine girls and also of Batuk Bhairav, on that ‘paraat’. HE also applied tilak on the forehead of the children and gifted them each a Banarsi chunri and performed their aarti amidst chanting of mantras. He also gave the girls ‘dakshina’ and clothes.
Meenakshi Rai, Ragini Rai and Vijay Laxmi Aggarwal who were present at the ‘kanya bhoj’ said that they were participating in the event for the second time. “Maharajji loves us very much and he also gives us dakshina and clothes,” they said.
The children said that they felt very nice after meeting Maharajji.
The Chief Minister observes 9-day fast on Navratra every year. He has been in Gorakhpur for the last three days and since then he has been worshipping Goddess Durga on the first floor of the ‘math’ and performing hawan as a part of tradition.
On Tuesday, the Chief Minister will leave the first floor of the math and come down on the occasion of Dussehra. He will begin his day by performing a special puja of Nathji along with saints and priests at 9 am.
He will leave for Mansarovar temple to participate in ‘Shobha Yatra’ at 4 pm in his traditional costume. After performing puja there, he will also go to Ramlila Maidan near the temple for the ‘tilak’ of Lord Shree Ram. The event will conclude with ‘bhandara’.
