Conches, lamps mark festivities across India
HISTORIC MOMENT BJP leaders congratulate PM for realising dream of Hindu believers
NEW DELHI: People lit earthen lamps in different parts of the country to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, as government functionaries, irrespective of political affiliations, termed the event as a “historic moment” for every Indian.
There was an air of accomplishment as workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Rashtryia Swayamseval Sangh, and other affiliates of the latter blew conches when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed ceremonial rituals at the sanctum sanctorum of the makeshift temple and placed a silver brick as the foundation for the new one.
BJP offices in various states were decorated and large screens were installed outside the offices to show the telecast of the ceremony -- carried live by almost every news channel in the country. Party workers raised Jai Shri Ram and Jai Siya Ram slogansand after the ceremony, ladoos were distributed among people in several states.
Ram temples across India were done up for the occasion too, with even the streets leading to some in the country’s Hindi heartland decorated. Rains in several parts of the country including Ayodhya on Wednesday dampened the celebrations but not the sentiments.
In Raj Bhavans (the residence of the governors) in states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, earthen lamps were lit and special prayers were held.
Rajasthan governor Kalraj
Mishra, a former BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, hosted a recitation of the Sundara Kandam, one of the books of the Ramayan, and Sundarkand with his family members and lit 101 earthen lamps at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur. He said the commitment to build the Ram Temple has been fulfilled. “The temple will be established as a symbol of cultural and national unity and with the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)’.”
Governors of UP and Uttarakhand Anandiben Patel and Baby Rani Maurya congratulated the PM. “The dream of all Hindu believers has moved towards reality today,” Maurya said.
Rajasthan chief minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot expressed hope that the temple would become a symbol of unity. “His (Ram’s) life teaches us the importance of truth, justice, equality of all, compassion and brotherhood. We need to focus on establishing an egalitarian society based on the values espoused by Lord Ram,” Gehlot tweeted.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh also tweeted a congratulatory message and said the temple would bring unity and prosperity in the country.
West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, who ordered complete lockdown in the state on Wednesday, citing the Covid-19 pandemic said, “Our country has always upheld the age-old legacy of unity in diversity, and we must preserve this to our last breath!”
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh claimed that several of its workers were arrested when they violated the lockdown restrictions to visit local temples in Bengal. At Kharagpur in West Midnapore district police resorted to lathi charge after minor clashes with BJP workers. “Mamata Banerjee is antihindu,” Ghosh added.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khatter and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the day, historic. “This happy moment is historic for every Indian,” Khatter said; Chouhan added that the “dream of 500 years” has come true. The Ram temple will strengthen peace and humanity in the country, said Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal. “There was a long and hard struggle for 500 years. But the power of Indian democratic values, judiciary and executive, under the leadership of PM Modi, has shown the world how solutions to problems can be found peacefully through democratic and constitutional means,” said UP chief minister Yodi Adityanath.