Wanted 3 temples: After Ayodhya, Yogi backs Mathura, Kashi push

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday appeared to endorse a claim by Hindu groups over two shrines in Varanasi and Mathura as he hailed the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and accused previous governments of neglecting the temple town.

Invoking Lord Krishna on the floor of the legislative assembly, Adityanath said that in the Mahabharata, Krishna asked for five villages, but today the Hindu society was only asking for the three centres of faith.

“Before the start of the Kurukshetra war mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna urged Duryodhana to give five villages to the Pandavas. Similarly, we are asking for our three holy places — Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura — lands of God’s incarnation,” he said in the state assembly while replying to the motion of thanks to the governor’s address.

He also referred to the recent developments in the Gyanvapi mosque case, where Hindu prayers started in the southern cellar last week after three decades, following a district court order.

“We kept promises made to the people with the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.The consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla was wonderful, and an unforgettable moment. After the festivity in Ayodhya, Nandi Baba said why should we wait. He got the barricades removed at night,” the CM said, possibly referring to the idol of Nandi facing the Gyanvapi mosque. The barricades around the southern cellar were removed around midnight on February 1, hours after the district court order.

And Lord Krishna, too, wasn’t the one to be dissuaded, he added. “Aur hamare Krishna Kanhaiya kahan manne wale hein,” he said. His reference appeared to be the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura and the dispute with the Shahi Eidgah that stands next to it.

Varanasi, Mathura and Ayodhya are part of a decades-old ideological project by Hindu groups who argue that medieval-era Islamic structures were built by demolishing temples and demand rights over those structures.

The CM was replying to the motion of thanks to the governor’s address in the legislative assembly. He lashed out at the opposition parties for allegedly putting hurdles in the construction of Ram temple, which was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22.

The CM accused the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) government of ignoring development in Ayodhya. “We agree that the temple dispute was in the court but the roads there could have been widened. The ghats there could have been revived,” he said.

“Electricity could have been supplied to the residents of Ayodhya. Sanitation arrangements could have been made there. Better health facilities could have been provided there. An airport could have been built there,” he added.

“With what intentions was this development work stopped,” Adityanath said. “What was the intention in blocking the development of Ayodhya, blocking the development of Kashi, blocking the development of Mathura-Vrindavan.”

He said previous governments didn’t let Ayodhya develop by imposing restrictions and curfew.

“The Opposition leaders played with the public faith and people had to beg for faith. The foreign invaders not only looted our wealth but also hurt our faith and destroyed our cultural heritage. After independence, opposition parties made a malicious attempt to glorify the invaders to serve their vote bank. Now the country will not accept it,” he said.

The CM said parliamentary affairs minister (Suresh Khanna) had moved a resolution in the House (on February 5), welcoming the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya but some SP members opposed the resolution.

“Everyone should visit Ayodhya to have darshan of Lord Ram who belongs to everyone. The whole world wants to come to Ayodhya. The governor had started her address with Lord Ram, but the leader of Opposition is worried about the votes. The Opposition does not care about the pride of the state but about the vote bank politics. It is a dangerous affliction as we are playing with people’s trust,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath said projects worth ₹31,000 crore were launched in Ayodhya to build a grand city.

“Dharma Path, Shri Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Janmabhoomi Path have been constructed. Guptar Ghat, Ram Ghat and Naya Ghat have been developed. Ram Ki Paidi is clean as Haridwar. Projects for the development of new township will be launched soon. All the states are acquiring land (in Ayodhya) to establish guest houses. More than 36 lakh devotees have visited (Ram temple) in 16 days,” he said.

“The governments are not set up to decide or build temples or mosques. Its been part of our culture to resolve issues either through mutual dialogue or through courts. But if either of the two are not being referred to, it means that whole effort is to divert attention from real issues that the common man faces,” said Congress spokesman CP Rai.