Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (10 February) said that ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ramlalla at Ram Mandir in Adyodhya on 22 January was the beginning of the journey of a great India.

Speaking during a discussion on Ram temple construction in the Lok Sabha today, Shah said “January 22 will be a historic day for thousand of years to come as it was the day that fulfilled the hopes and aspirations of all Ram devotees.”

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“January 22 was the beginning of great India…Those who imagine a country without Lord Ram do not know our country well and they represent the days of colonialism,” he said.

He further said the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram temple has ended a long agitation since 1528 and a legal fight since 1858.

“No one can read the history of this country by ignoring the Ram Mandir movement. Since 1528, every generation has seen this movement in some form or the other. This matter remained stuck for a long time. This dream had to be fulfilled during the time of the Modi government…” he said.

He said that nowhere else in the world, the majority community has fought legally so long for its faith.

Shah further said that the Ram Mandir ‘pran pratishtha’ will be seen as respect for democratic value across the world as it was done only after the judgement of Supreme Court.

“Ram temple construction is a journey from struggle to devotion; from ‘Jai Shri Ram’ to ‘Jai Sia Ram’,” he said.

Targeting the Opposition in the lower house, Shah said, “When we mentioned about it (constructing Ram Temple) in our manifesto, they (opposition) said it was only to win the elections and the BJP keeps making such promises – Article 370, Ram Janmabhoomi, Uniform Civil Code or Triple Talaq. However, they oppose us every time we fulfil our promises,” he said.

He asserted that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “do what they say”.

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