Ayodhya/ Uttar Pradesh: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged the citizens of India to illuminate their homes with lamps on January 22 to mark the official inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
As said by the PM, the whole world is waiting for the "historic" temple consecration ceremony but appealed to people not to travel to the city for the event. He said some people have been invited and they should come to the temple town to witness the historic day.
The PM was addressing a public meeting on Saturday after inaugurating the Maharshi Valmiki airport and the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station in the city.
According to Modi, the strength of "vikas" (development) and "virasat" (heritage) will take the country forward. He urged all citizens to light diyas (lamps) in their houses on January 22 so that the whole country bask in glory, and to launch a cleanliness drive at pilgrimage sites and temples across the country from January 14 and January 22.
There was a time when Lord Ram was "living under a tent", but now he will get a concrete house like four crore poor who got pucca houses, he said. He added that the Ujjwala Yojana has transformed the lives of crores of mothers and sisters. According to him, only 14 crore gas connections were given in five decades, but his government gave 18 crore, including 10 crore free of cost under the Ujjawala Scheme, in a decade.
On his visit to Ayodhya, the PM also laid the foundation stones of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 15,700 crore. These comprise projects worth about Rs 11,100 crore for the development of the city and its surrounding areas, and those worth about Rs 4,600 crore related to other works in Uttar Pradesh.
(With PTI inputs)
