Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: In a subtle political message from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP’s saffron mascot Yogi Adityanath said that the saffron party had fulfilled its promise and now it was the ‘turn’ of Ayodhya to ‘prove’ itself (ensure victory for BJP).
"Double engine ki sarkar ne jo wada kiya tha hamne use pura kiya…Mandir ban gaya….Ramlala virajman ho gaye….ab Ayodhya ki bari hai (The double engine has done what it had promised…the Ram Temple has been constructed and Ramlala is now there…now it’s Ayodhya’s turn)," Adityanath said while speaking at functions organized in Ayodhya on the occasion of Diwali on Wednesday and Thursday.
"Devi Sita ki agni pariksha baar baar nahin honi chahiye (Sita, Lord Rama’s consort, should not be put to test repeatedly)," he said. Sita had to walk through fire to prove her purity and win back Lord Rama’s trust, according to Hindu mythology.
Adityanath’s remarks assume significance as they came after his party’s humiliating defeat from Faizabad Lok Sabha seat (Ayodhya is part of Faizabad parliamentary constituency) in the recent general elections at the hands of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
SP candidate Awadhesh Prasad, an MLA from the Milkipur Assembly seat under the Ayodhya Lok Sabha constituency, had defeated BJP nominee Lallu Singh by over 48,000 votes. A by-poll will now be held in Milkipur seat.
The CM also appealed to the people not to be divided on the basis of caste, language and region and work unitedly to strengthen ‘sanatan dharma’.
He said that the ‘mace’ of Lord Hanuman would protect sanatan dharma as he appealed for unity among the Hindus.
Adityanath’s comments, which came within days of his ‘batenge to katenge’ (if we are divided then we will be slaughtered) remarks, which were endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS, also appeared to be an attempt to create some form of polarisation ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, as well as the bypolls to nine seats in UP.
Adityanath, who was among the star campaigners for the BJP, is likely to address dozens of election meetings in the poll-bound states.