On Friday, January 27, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath called the Sanatan Dharma as the ‘national religion’ and said that every citizen of the country should respect it. CM Yogi also asserted that for the religious places that were destroyed or desecrated in the past, a campaign should to started to restore them, as was done in the case of Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
CM Yogi said, “Our Sanatan Dharma is India’s “Rashtriya Dharma”. We establish a connection to “Rashtriya Dharma” when we rise above selfishness. Connecting to the national religion makes our nation secure. Symbols of our honour should be re-established, and the cow and Brahmins should be protected. If our religious places were desecrated in any era, then there should be a campaign to restore them, like the Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya. After 500 years, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts, Bhagwan Ram’s grand temple is being built in Ayodhya.”
Yogi Adityanath was visiting the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Jalore. Along with Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Uttar Pradesh CM also planted Rudraksha during this event.
CM Yogi also stated that the restoration of Lord Neelkanth’s temple in a grand manner after 1400 years is an illustration of respect for and preservation of heritage.
“The country is developing. Recall that Prime Minister Modi-ji gave us all “paanch pran” (five pledges) in the “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” year, one of which was respect for our cultural heritage. The program today reflects that same pledge,” the UP CM said.
Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced earlier this month that Shri Ram Temple will be ready by 1st January 2024. While speaking at a rally in Sabroom in South Tripura, Amit Shah said, “During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, I was the president of the BJP and Rahul Baba (Rahul Gandhi) was the president of the Congress. He used to ask every day – the date of construction of the temple there will never be told. So Rahul baba, open your ears and listen, on January 1, 2024, you will have the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya ready.”