“It is good that the Congress and Samajwadi Party are not coming on January 22 for Pran Pratishtha…they have no ‘aastha’ in Lord Ram,” says Krishna Swaroop who has come from Agra and joins News18 on an evening boat ride on Saryu river in Ayodhya.
The holy town is teeming with devotees from near and far. News18 met youngsters from Amritsar, on the boat, who have been running ‘langars’ (community kitchen) in Ayodhya for the last two months in devotion to Lord Ram. “I took leave from my job in Dubai for two months to come here…I consider myself fortunate. Generations of sanatan have waited for this. We did not get the opportunity to do Seva in 1992, but we have got an opportunity now. Unfortunately, Congress lost this chance of January 22,” said Vishal Sharma and Sudesh Kumar. Volunteers from Amritsar’s Durgiana Temple are helping them here.
Most devotees and seers in Ayodhya seem to agree on one issue that the Congress has “disrespected” the January 22 invite by rejecting it. Mahant Raju Das of Hanumangarhi temple slammed Rahul Gandhi’s statement on Tuesday that January 22 was a BJP-RSS event. “Congress was given an invite by the Ram Temple Trust, not by the BJP or the RSS. What does he mean by a ‘BJP-RSS event’? Are BJP and RSS some anti-national organisations?” Das asked News18.
Das ridiculed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s statement that the Garb Griha (sanctum sanctorum of the temple) was not built where the Babri Masjid was demolished. “He should first make an effort to visit Ayodhya to know the facts…he does not know about Ayodhya,” Das said. “They are now saying their top leaders may come at a later date…and some of their leaders came yesterday. This is like someone invites you to their wedding but you want to come on another day,” he added.
On the boat ride, Krishna Swaroop and his wife Rashmi tell News18 that their family has a special connection with Lord Ram. “We belong to Gautam Rishi’s clan. We are connected to Lord Ram, he blessed Ahilya, the wife of Gautam Rishi. Hanuman is considered our nephew and Mata Sita is from our Maika (maternal home),” the couple says. Rashmi says they visited Ayodhya six months ago as well. “Pran Pratishtha is not just big for Ayodhya or India but for the entire world. Lord Ram wanted peace for the world,” says Swaroop.
He says it is “good” that the Congress is not coming on January 22. “They are ‘nastiks’ (non-believers) …they have always protested against Lord Ram,” says the couple.
At the Sri Janki Mahal Trust near Ram Janambhoomi, many pilgrims staying here said it was unfortunate that Congress had rejected the January 22 invite. “This is an event of Lord Ram, not the event of any party or organisation. Who would say no to being present at the Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram? Lord Ram is watching everything. We have come from so far from Gujarat looking for an invite for January 22,” a group of devotees from Gujarat told News18.
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