On November 9, Thursday, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath held a cabinet meeting in Ayodhya. The meeting of the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet took place at the Ramkatha Mandap (auditorium) located on the banks of the Saryu River. Yogi Adityanath created history of sorts as he is the first Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh’s history to hold cabinet meetings outside the state capital Lucknow.
This was done to make four years of the historic Ram Mandir judgement. Notably, it was on November 9, 2019, that the Supreme Court of India handed over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land to the Hindu parties, making way for Hindu devotees to build the grand Ram Mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Ahead of the arrival of the cabinet members, there was an elaborate decoration done at the museum. Posters and huge cutouts of Lord Shri Ram and Hanuman were placed in the hall inside the Museum where the cabinet meeting took place.
Yogi Adityanath and all his cabinet members reached the Ramkatha Park in Ayodhya at around 11:00 am on a bus.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offered prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple along with cabinet ministers. The Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues also performed the Parikrama of the temple.
They also worshipped at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi complex and the Shri Ram Lala Virajman temple today.
The security in Ayodhya has been tightened and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has been deployed on the streets.
ADG Police, Lucknow Zone, Piyush Mordia, said, “We have made the security arrangements for the visit of very special guests. We will try that it doesn’t affect the day-to-day routine of common people preparing for Deepawali here. Enough police force has been deployed.”
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Yogi Adityanath is the first Chief Minister in Uttar Pradesh’s history to hold cabinet meetings outside the state capital.
“Similar meetings were previously held during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in 2019, where cabinet members participated in a holy bath at the Sangam. Additionally, a cabinet meeting was conducted in Kashi. Continuing this tradition, the Yogi Cabinet will now convene in Ayodhya, the revered birthplace of Lord Shri Ram Lalla,” an official statement said.
After the meeting, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday announced that his cabinet has cleared 14 projects related to the development of Ayodhya.
“Today a new chapter has been added in the history of Uttar Pradesh. The entire cabinet of the UP government has come to Ayodhya Dham,” the chief minister said.
“An important meeting was held today regarding the development of UP. We know that 178 schemes of the Central and State Governments worth more than Rs 30,500 crore are already running in Ayodhya…”
According to Adityanath, the initial suggestion was to create an Inland Waterways Authority in Uttar Pradesh to enhance water transportation while promoting water tourism.
“We have decided to create this authority at the state level,” he said during a media briefing.
Additionally, the chief minister announced that the establishment of the Ma Pateshesri Dham Tirth Vikas Parishad and the Ayodhya Tirth Vikas Parishad had been approved. According to him, the state also passed regulations governing drone flying.
The date – November 9 – holds significance as the Supreme Court on this date in 2019 passed its historic verdict making way for Hindu devotees to have a grand Ram Mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous judgement in the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The top 5 senior judges decided after weighing the arguments presented by all sides for 40 days. CJI Ranjan Gogoi said that the bench is the final arbitrator in the matter and he said that the court is not obligated to give a religious rationale while deciding the case.
While handing over the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid land to the Hindu parties, the Apex court also ordered the union government to provide 5 acres of land at an alternate site at a prominent location in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to rebuild the Babri Masjid which was demolished in 1992.
Now, the long wait of thousands of devotees is finally coming to an end as the date for the opening of the Grand Ram Mandir has been formally announced by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The day after Makar Sankranti (January 14) in the following year is when the trust’s lavish consecration ceremony is scheduled to begin. The new deity would be symbolically taken out from the city of Ayodhya and bathed in water from Saryu and other sacred rivers. Following this, over a dozen other religious ceremonies would be conducted before the final prayers and Vedic rituals are carried out on January 22.
On October 25, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust formally invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the inauguration of Ram Mandir. PM Modi posted on X that officials of the trust met him at his residence and invited him to attend the event of Pran Pratistha at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.