New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the grand illumination of 1.51 crore lamps across the state, including a record 26 lakh diyas in Ayodhya Dham, represents the collective spiritual resolve of India.  

He was speaking at the coronation ceremony of Lord Ram held at Ramkatha Park, where he also honoured revered saints associated with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

“In Ayodhya, every particle holds dignity, every lamp radiates compassion, and Lord Shri Ram dwells in every heart,” the Chief Minister said, calling the Deepotsav a living symbol of Sanatan Dharma’s endurance through five centuries of struggle.

Recalling that the Deepotsav began in 2017 with just 1.71 lakh lamps, CM Yogi said that the surge to over 26 lakh lamps today reflects a national awakening of faith and pride. He said Ayodhya, once renamed Faizabad and stripped of its identity, has now reclaimed its status as the spiritual capital of India and a global hub of religious tourism.

Without naming political rivals, he criticised those who once called Lord Ram a myth and attempted to obstruct the Ram Temple movement.

“They fired bullets, and we are lighting lamps. They locked the temple, and today, Lord Ram sits in his divine abode,” he said, adding that those who once bowed before Mughal tombs are now hesitant to accept invitations to Ram Lalla.

CM Yogi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled a historical resolve by laying the foundation of the temple and leading the Pran Pratishtha earlier this year.

“This is the victory of devotion and the fulfilment of the vows of Ram bhakts across generations,” he said.

Highlighting the development, he said Ayodhya now receives six to ten crore devotees annually and is being built as a clean, modern, cultural and emotional city that embodies the ideal of Ram Rajya—where no one remains poor, sorrowful or deprived.

“Ayodhya today is both a symbol of spiritual grandeur and the model of a new, confident India,” he noted.

–IANS

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