News Analysis India

Tag: Ayodhya

  • Good that Yogi Adityanth isn’t BJP’s Ayodhya candidate: Ram Temple chief priest

    By PTI

    AYODHYA: The chief priest of the Ram Temple here on Monday said it is good that Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath is not contesting the state Assembly polls from this seat as he would have faced a lot of opposition.

    When asked why he suggested that Adityanath should not to contest from Ayodhya, Acharya Satyendra Das said he advised this “after asking Ram Lalla (Lord Ram)”.

    Das said that he suggested that Adityanath should contest from Gorakhpur as people whose houses and shops were demolished here due to infrastructure projects in the wake of the construction of the temple were opposing him.

    “It’s good that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is not contesting from here. I had suggested it earlier and advised that it will be better that he contest from any seat of Gorakhpur. I speak after asking Ram Lalla. I spoke with Ram Lalla’s inspiration,” said Das, who is the chief priest of the makeshift Ram Lalla temple, which is being replaced by a grand temple.

    The 84-year-old priest said that the seers here are divided in their opinion and those whose houses and shops were demolished are against him. “All are saying that it’s his work. This opposition is there. I said he better go there (Gorakhpur). He would have won from here but could have faced problems,” the priest said.

    There was a strong buzz in political circles that Adityanath would enter the fray from Ayodhya but the BJP leadership decided to field him from the Gorakhpur (Urban) Assembly segment. About the election mood in Ayodhya, Das said it is not yet clear as all parties have not declared their candidates.

    The priest, however, said the ruling BJP will not let go the Ram temple issue and it will remain on their agenda. “Earlier, there was Ram Lalla andolan, then came the court’s order and the construction of the Ram temple started. This Ram temple issue will never go away. They will say firing was opened here (on ‘kar sewaks’), application was moved in the court to prevent the construction – but the temple construction is on. They will certainly take the name (of Ram temple). This will not go away,” Das said.

    Das hoped to see the completed Ram temple in his lifetime. “Let’s see how many days it takes for the construction to complete. A majority of those who were with me have gone (passed away),” Das said, adding that he will be serving here till his last.

    Das said he joined as the priest of the makeshift Ram Lalla temple in 1992, the year the Babri mosque was demolished.

    When asked if he was present when the mosque was demolished, Das said, “I was there. It happened before me. I was witness to it. Out of three domes, north and south domes were demolished by ‘kar sewaks’. I took Ram Lalla with its throne in my hand. The demolition was over by 5 pm. Later, ‘kar sewaks’ pitched a tent and levelled the place and by 7 pm, I kept Ram Lalla there.”

    When asked whether local politicians have started coming to him to take his blessings, Das said, “Till now, wife of Samajwadi Party leader Pawan Pandey has come to me. He is a strong candidate from the SP.”

    Pawan Pandey had won the 2012 Assembly elections from Ayodhya and was made a minister in the previous Akhilesh Yadav government. In 2017, BJP’s Ved Prakash Gupta won the Ayodhya seat. All five Assembly seats in the district–Ayodhya, Bikapur, Rudauli, Gosaiganj and Milkipur—are held by the BJP now.

    Ayodhya will go to the polls in the fifth phase on February 27.

  • Yogi government orders probe after reports on land grabbing in Ayodhya

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday ordered a probe into reports of relatives of BJP leaders and government officials allegedly “usurping” land near the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

    “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the revenue department to probe the matter thoroughly,” Additional Chief Secretary, Information, Navneet Sehgal told PTI.

    Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the party’s charge by putting out a tweet that “Hindutva robs under the guise of religion”.

    Over the past few days, he has invoked the term ‘Hindutva’ to attack the BJP.

    “Hindu follows the path of truth. Hindutva robs under the guise of religion,” he said in a tweet in Hindi, tagging the news report that claimed MLAs, mayors, relatives of the commissioner, SDM and DIG bought land in Ayodhya after the Supreme Court announced the verdict in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, clearing the way for construction of the Ram temple.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge also sought to raise the issue but as he stood to speak, the House was adjourned sine die.

    Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala termed it a “land scam”, saying there is an “open loot of land inside Ayodhya city by people connected to the BJP”.

    “Respected Modiji, when will you open your mouth on this open loot? The Congress party, the people of the country and Ram Bhakts are asking these questions. Is this not treason? Is it anything less than treason? The BJP is now running the business of ‘Andher Nagri, Chaupat Raja’ in Ayodhya,” he told reporters.

  • It was my responsibility to explain SC’s Ayodhya verdict, says Salman Khurshid on his new book

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Former union minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who recently launched his book on the Ayodhya verdict, on Tuesday said that it was his responsibility to explain the verdict of a Court to whom he was once associated.

    Speaking to ANI, Khurshid said, “People used to think that it will take 100 years for the verdict to come. After the verdict, people started giving opinions perhaps without reading it or understanding that what, why or how did Supreme Court give the judgement.”

    “So, it was my responsibility to explain the verdict of a Court I am associated with. I agreed it is a very good judgement, a way of applying ointment to the situation we have in the nation today and an attempt to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” he said.

    The Supreme Court in its order on November 9, 2019, directed the central government to hand over the 2.77 acres of disputed land to a trust, set up for the construction and management of a Ram temple.

    A five-judge Constitution bench presided by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had also directed that a suitable plot of land admeasuring five acres be handed over to the Sunni Central Waqf Board granting it the liberty to construct a mosque at the alternate site.

  • Faizabad Junction now Ayodhya Cantt: Mixed reactions from historians, locals on station renaming

    By PTI

    FAIZABAD: Old signboards at platforms painted over, trilingual signages on top of the station’s facade summarily removed and a banner bearing its new nomenclature ‘Ayodhya Cantt’ casually hung on its porch front – Faizabad Junction is in a state of transition.

    The recent move of authorities to rename the 19th Century station, three years after Faizabad district was rechristened to Ayodhya, however, has drawn a mixed response from historians and local residents, many of whom feel it will “erase the identity of this historic city” and “create confusion”.

    Another section, though, welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s decision, with some saying the name Ayodhya should be used everywhere in public places, as “it is Bhagwan Ram Ki Nagari (city of Lord Ram)”.

    Sadhu Ram, 55, a rickshaw-puller, who usually parks his rickshaw in front of the iconic station building, said, “The change of name was not necessary. There is already an Ayodhya station. Passengers will face confusion now.”

    Ram, who moved to Faizabad from Jalalabad in Shahjehanpur district when he was 12, said he was now in two minds – whether to call it “Faizabad” or “Ayodhya Cantt” while ferrying his passengers.

    Rajesh Kumar, 30, who has been working as a coolie at the Faizabad Junction since 2008, is equally perplexed after the renaming of the station that is said to have been opened in 1874.

    He points to the engraving on his brass badge: ‘Licenced Porter N.R.77 Faizabad’ and then motions towards the temporary banner at the station’s porch which carries the new name ‘Ayodhya Cantt’ in bold black fonts and in four languages– Hindi, Sanskrit, English and Urdu.

    “It will create a lot of confusion as there is Ayodhya City station already, about 10 km from here. Passengers coming to Faizabad or Ayodhya for the first time may end up getting down at the wrong destination,” he said.

    Faizabad city is located about seven km from its twin town Ayodhya in Ayodhya district (earlier Faizabad district), and the Faizabad station is a major railway junction, which comes under the Northern Railway zone and falls in the Lucknow-Varanasi section.

    Ayodhya town is located about 120 km from state capital Lucknow.

    The trilingual signages — English, Hindi and Urdu — which earlier stood on top of the station building’s facade were removed recently after railway authorities issued an order on its renaming.

    On the day of Diwali, old station signboards were also painted over, replacing ‘Faizabad Junction’ (station code FD) with ‘Ayodhya Cantt’ (station code AYC).

    Ankit Pandey, 25, a tourist guide based in Ayodhya town, who takes pilgrims to Ramjanmabhoomi site, Hanuman Garhi and Kanak Bhawan in the temple town, said, “Renaming was necessary.

    Faizabad name cannot remain as the entire district is Ayodhya now, and Ayodhya is ‘Prabhu Shri Ram ki Nagari’”.

    While the opposition has dubbed the move as an attempt to play with Hindu sentiments for political benefits, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has justified the renaming, saying it is part of the efforts to “restore the rich historical and cultural identity” of the place.

    Manzar Mehdi, historian and editor of a Faizabad-based bilingual publication ‘Aap ki Taqat’, which promotes communal harmony with the slogan ‘Hindu-Muslim do bhai, Hindi-Urdu do behen’, feels dejected over the renaming.

    He alleged it was all “driven by dirty politics” and an “attempt to erase the very identity of Faizabad”.

    He, however, points out that many shops and other establishments in Chawk and other prominent areas continue to use the old name ‘Faizabad’ on their boards or ‘Faizabad, Ayodhya’ referring to both the old city name and the new district name.

    “Faizabad was the first capital of the Nawabs of Awadh, saw a period of glory and has a rich architectural and literary heritage. I revere Ayodhya as a holy place, but my Faizabad has its own identity. Faizabad will neither be erased or replaced from my office board as long as I am alive,” he said.

    The BJP government had also renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj and Mughalsarai Railway Junction as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in 2018.

    Mehdi fears that more cities with Islamic names in Uttar Pradesh might get renamed.

    Delhi-based historian and author Rana Safvi said Ayodhya and Faizabad have always been known as twin towns and are a symbol of India’s “Ganga-Jamuni tahzeeb (syncretic culture)”.

    “It’s not that Ayodhya was the old name of Faizabad. These are two different cities with different cultures and have co-existed for centuries. Now, they don’t want that co-existence. They can change names of a place or a station, but I feel, Faizabad has been etched in the hearts of the people,” she said.

  • Potters a happy lot this Diwali as diyas in demand to send political signals in poll-bound UP

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: Yashpal Prajapati, a potter who spins the wheel churning out diyas (earthen lamps) in Bakshi Ka Talab, is a happy soul this Diwali as sales have really been impressive and people preferred diyas to Chinese lights.

    Apart from the general public, diyas were also in demand among political parties to convey messages. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reiterated its focus on religious sites by lighting diyas in lakhs in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura, the Samajwadi Party tried to embarrass the dispensation by lighting them as a tribute to farmers who lost their lives during the ongoing protest over the three contentious farm laws.

    Potters from across the state were a happy lot as their business picked up substantially, with diyas being used for political symbolism in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. A record nine lakh diyas were lit in Ayodhya, another 7 lakh plus in Varanasi and around the same number in Mathura — enough to convey the nuance of the BJP’s political intent.

    With the UP assembly election just a few months away, the BJP is all out to woo social groups through caste conferences. Prajapatis (a subcaste among the OBCs) are engaged in diya making. The ruling party promoted its leader Dharamvir Prajapati as one of the seven newly-inducted ministers in the Yogi cabinet apart from commencing its caste conferences with one for the Prajapati community.

    Moreover, this Diwali, in the wake of the border stand-off with China, the swadeshi push of the BJP for diyas over Chinese lights attained a higher pitch. The lighting of diyas across the state in large numbers is also being portrayed by the BJP as a gesture representing the housewarming ceremonies of those who got dwellings in the state. Additionally, the target was also to light another 45 lakh diyas across the state – each of them representing the total number of homeless across rural and urban UP who got a house under the government’s ‘awaas yojana’ initiative.

    UP CM Yogi Adityanath had directed officials to ensure that at least one diya was lit at the homes of all those who got a house across the state, whether in an urban setting or rural. As per RSS sources, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), a subsidiary of the Sangh pariwar, also lit one lakh diyas across the state as part of its swadeshi push. Government-sponsored Diwali melas at 217 places across the state also added sheen to the festival with the lighting of diyas.

    Meanehile, the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) directed cadres to light up a diya each in memory of farmers who died while protesting against the government’s three farm laws. “I would want each party cadre to light up a diya for farmers,” SP chief Akhilesh Yadav told his cadres.

  • Ram temple trust in Ayodhya ropes in TCS to manage accounts as funds cross Rs 3000 crore

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Trust has entrusted corporate giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with the management of its funds that have crossed Rs 3,000 crore. TCS is believed to be developing an accounting software for the purpose.

    The handover of the management of funds has been initiated in the wake of controversies kicked up over the land deals by the trust. The temple trust general secretary Champat Rai has confirmed the takeover.

    According to highly placed sources, the RSS had called three key trust members to Mumbai for a closed-door meeting over the controversial land deals. After the meeting, the move to hand over the accounts to a professional firm was initiated.

    TCS has set up its accounts office at Ramghat near Ramjanmabhoomi and is scheduled to come out with the accounting software by December and begin digitisation and management of trust accounts. IT experts from the Tata Group recently gave a presentation of the software to temple construction committee chairman Nripendra Mishra.

    Temple trust secretary Champat Rai said the trust’s requirements were discussed with TCS software experts, who are now installing an accounting system. “TCS will digitise and manage our accounts from December,” he said.

    It may be recalled that as the trust coffers began to swell during the VHP crowdfunding campaign for the Ram temple construction, the trust website was hacked and a fake portal to siphon off funds was created. Fraudsters also cloned cheques of the temple trust’s bank account and withdrew large sums of money after the PSU bank’s clearing house repeatedly failed to connect to the trust secretary for a final nod before the debit. After botched fund management, the trust got embroiled in court cases over allegations of corruption in land deals, including purchase of nazul land and temples.

    Temple trust member Anil Mishra said that the team of chartered accountants would continue to maintain accounts of the income and expenses of the temple trust. 

  • Eye on UP polls, AAP includes Ayodhya in Delhi government’s free pilgrimage scheme

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday approved the inclusion of Ayodhya in its free pilgrimage scheme for the elderly, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced.

    Kejriwal had on Tuesday offered prayers at the Ram Janambhoomi site in Ayodhya.

    The announcement by Kejriwal comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls early next year which his AAP plans to contest.

    Under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Teerath Yatra Yojna’, the Delhi government bears complete expenditure on free pilgrimage of senior citizens to places like Jagganath Puri, Rameshwaram, Shirdi, Mathura, Haridwar, Tirupati among others, he said.

    Over 35,000 senior citizens have undertaken pilgrimage under the scheme.

    Due to COVID-19, the scheme was halted for the last one-and-a-half years but now instructions have been issued to resume it and the trains for various destinations are expected to be started in the next one month, he said.

  • Ayodhya Deepotsav 2021: 500 drones to draw Ramayana scenes, 7.5 lakh diyas to illuminate city 

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: For the first time, 500 drones will draw the Ramayan era scenes on Ayodhya’s skyline during the Deepotsav celebrations on Diwali eve in the temple town of Ayodhya in November.

    The Deepotsav lightening 7.5 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) on the Diwali eve on November 3 will be the centerpiece of the six-day celebrations starting on November 1 in Ayodhya.

    Apart from the drones, the other attractions will be a 3-D holographic show, 3-D projection mapping, and laser show at the majestic Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of the Saryu River.

    Senior state government officials including principal secretary, Tourism, Mukesh Meshram, was in Ayodhya on Thursday to review preparations for Deepotsav.

    The Ayodhya administration has set a target of lighting a minimum of 7.5 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) across Ayodhya registering another Gunniess record, this year. Most of them will be lit at Ram Ki Paidi, the venue of the main event.

    ALSO READ | Idol in Ayodhya Ram temple to be illuminated by sun rays like Odisha’s Konark shrine

    However, the Ayodhya administration is prepared to light around nine lakh diyas taking a margin of error into account. “So that under any circumstances, 7.5 diyas are illuminated,” said an official of the Ayodhya administration. This will be the third Guinness record in a row if the set target is achieved.

    A team from the Guinness Book of World Records will be in Ayodhya to judge the event. Around 12,000 volunteers, mostly students of Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University, Ayodhya, have been engaged in making the lighting of the diyas successful.

    In 2020, the Ayodhya had created a new world record by lighting 6,06,569 diyas at Ram Ki Paidi ghat and other ghats of the Saryu. In 2019, the Ayodhya administration had lit 4,10,000 diyas, a record at the time.

    The Yogi Adityanath government has initiated the celebration called Deepotsav in Ayodhya every year on the eve of Diwali since 2017. This Deepotsav will be the last one before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due early next year.

  • Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Indra Pratap Tiwari gets 5 years in jail in 28-year-old fake mark sheet case

    By PTI

    AYODHYA: Indra Pratap Tiwari, BJP MLA from Gosaiganj in Ayodhya, was on Monday sentenced to five years imprisonment by a special court in a 28-year-old case of using a fake mark sheet to get admission in college.

    Special judge Puja Singh delivered the verdict and Tiwari, who was present in the MP/MLA court, was taken into custody and sent to jail.

    The court also slapped a fine of Rs 8,000 on him.

    Indra Pratap Tiwari alias Khabbu Tiwari was elected from the Gosaiganj assembly constituency.

    The case was lodged against Tiwari in 1992 by the then Principal of Saket Degree College in Ayodhya Yaduvansh Ram Tripathi at the Ram Janmabhoomi police station.

    According to the FIR, Tiwari, who failed in the second year of graduation, took admission in the next class by submitting a fake mark sheet in 1990.

    The charge sheet was filed after 13 years in the case.

    Several original documents disappeared from the records and the trial continued with the preparation of secondary copies of all the court documents.

    The plaintiff, Tripathi, also died during the trial.

    Mahendra Kumar Agrawal, the then Dean of Saket College, and other witnesses testified against Tiwari.

  • Ram temple foundation in Ayodhya to be completed this month, consecration by December 2023: VHP

    By Express News Service

    PUDUCHERRY: The foundation of the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya will be completed by the end of October this year and it is expected that ‘Bhagwan Sri Ram Lalla’ will be consecrated in the ‘garbhagriha’ (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple by December 2023 when devotees can take darshan, said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) National General Secretary Milind Parande.

    A huge foundation of 400 feet by 300 feet by 50 feet has been created underground and the actual construction of the temple has started, he said at a press conference on Wednesday. Thousands of people are already coming to visit the temple premises, despite the COVID-19 situation, he added.

    The VHP leader demanded that the government relinquish its control over temples and hand them over to  Hindu society. Stating that churches or mosques are not controlled by the government, he charged the government of adopting discriminatory attitudes towards temples. “Only when certain issues like disputes arise, the government should interfere, otherwise Hindu society should control temples,” he said.

    Alleging that temple donations are being misused in many states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry, he said that the funds are diverted by the government for non-religious work. Often the funds are used by the government for ‘secular purposes’ or government work. The donation has not been given for such purposes by devotees and hence the funds should be used for ‘seva of deities or dharma prachar’, he said. Till a Hindu societal body is formed, temple funds should not be touched by the government, he said, adding that the government should use their own funds for developmental activities.

    The VHP leader urged the Puducherry government to bring in an anti-conversion law to prevent forced conversion of Hindus to other religions. The law should also include provisions to outlaw conversions through marriages in the name of love jihad, he said. Minor girls were abducted and forced to convert in the name of marriage. At present there is the Special Marriage Act to deal with mixed marriages, but stringent provisions are required to establish that the marriage and conversion is not a forced one, he said.

    The Supreme Court has given clear directions, based on which the anti-conversion law should be framed, said Parande. Already, some states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand have passed such anti-conversion laws in their respective states and Puducherry should also come up with such a law. He said that he will approach the administration in this regard. The VHP has been demanding a central anti-conversion law for the entire country, he said.