Barabanki (UP), February 10 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stated on Tuesday that the day of "Qayamat" (doomsday) will never come, and therefore, the Babri Masjid will never be rebuilt.
Speaking at an event in Barabanki, the district bordering Ayodhya, Adityanath said, "We had said that 'Ram Lalla, hum aayenge, mandir wahi banaayenge' (Child Ram, we will come and build the temple right there). Has the temple been built? Is there any doubt?"
The audience responded by chanting "Jai Shri Ram."
"The day of 'Qayamat' (doomsday) will never come, and therefore, the Babri structure will never be rebuilt. Those who are dreaming of the day of 'Qayamat' will rot away; that day will never come," he said.
Adityanath was participating in religious rituals organized at the Ram Janaki Temple in Dulhadepur Kuti, Barabanki, in memory of late Mahant Baba Harishankar Das Maharaj, according to a statement from the Uttar Pradesh government.
Two weeks ago, Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir – who had previously been suspended from the Trinamool Congress for announcing that a replica of the Babri Masjid would be built in West Bengal's Murshidabad district – had declared that construction of the "Babri 2.0" would begin at noon on February 11. Following this, a Hindutva fringe group had called on people in Uttar Pradesh to march to Murshidabad.
The contentious issue of the Babri Masjid dates back over a century.
A Supreme Court verdict on November 9, 2019, settled the matter by backing the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruling that an alternative five-acre plot would be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.
Hindus contend that the Babri Masjid – a three-domed mosque built by or at the behest of Mughal emperor Babur – was erected by invading Muslim armies after demolishing an existing Ram temple.
The dispute began in 1885 when a mahant sought permission to build a canopy outside the mosque. The request was denied. In December 1949, unidentified individuals placed a statue of Lord Ram inside the mosque. The structure was destroyed by a large mob of kar sevaks on December 6, 1992.
Speaking in Barabanki, Adityanath said that after 500 years, the "auspicious moment" of the Ram temple construction took place in Ayodhya.
"In these 500 years, many kings and emperors have come, many governments have come. India gained Independence in 1947, and after the first elections in 1952, governments were formed. But why didn't the idea of building a temple for Lord Ram at his birthplace ever occur to them?" he asked.
Taking a dig at opposition parties, he said that there is no place for "Ramdrohis," or traitors of Lord Ram, anywhere.
"Some people adopt an opportunistic attitude. They remember Ram when a crisis strikes and forget him later. So, Lord Ram has also forgotten them now. There is no place for Ramdrohis anywhere," he said.
Intensifying his attack, Adityanath said, "We want to tell those who were firing on Ram devotees, obstructing Ram's work, and those who are still dreaming of the Babri structure: the day of doom will never come. Don't live for the doomsday, learn to live according to the rules in India."
If someone breaks the law, the chief minister said, the only path leads to hell, not heaven.
He added that every Indian must work with a positive mindset for the vision of 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat' (One India, Better India).
"Every saint's spiritual practice is for his country. His 'dharma' (moral duty) is also dedicated to the country. Both complements each other. One is the body and the other is the soul, the two cannot be kept apart," Adityanath said.
He said that India cannot be separated from Sanatan Dharma.
"That is why you see that Sanatan Dharma, India and Indianness are being attacked from all over the world. We must be vigilant against attacks from within and outside. Because those who don't like India's progress, those who cannot digest the resolve of Viksit Bharat, are engaged in a conspiracy," Adityanath said.
He said people must brace themselves to stop three types of evil mindsets – "the one that is conspiring, the one falling prey to this conspiracy, and the one selling themselves out and working for that conspiracy".
