'We Asked For 3 Places': Adityanath Says Injustice Meted Out To Ayodhya, Kashi & Mathura

Days after a Varanasi court allowed Hindus to perform puja in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ — basement — portion of the Gyanvapi mosque premises, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath on Wednesday, said Kashi does not want to get behind after Ayodhya, where grand Ram Temple was opened for the public last month.

Speaking in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Adityanath said injustice was meted out to Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura and questioned previous governments of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for not developing these centres of Hindu pilgrimage.

“When I speak about injustice, we recall the 5000-year-old thing. Injustice was done even to the Pandavas at that time…That had happened with Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura… Ayodhya ke bad kashi boli hum kyun peeche. Humare krishna kanhaiya kahan manane wale hain,” he said.

Referring to Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s ‘Rashmirathi’, The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, “At that time, Krishna had gone to the Kauravas and said, then give us just five villages, keep all the land you have. We will happily eat there…Krishna had asked for five villages at the time. Krishna had gone for an agreement. He asked for justice, even if it was half. But here, the society and its faith, for hundreds of years, was talking about three, just three,” Yogi Adityanath said, referring to Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi– three revered sites in Hindu religion.

“Humne kewal teen jagah mangi. Ayodhya ka utsav logon ne dekha toh Nandi raja ne bhi kaha hum kahe intzaar karen. Ratri me barricade tudwa dale… Hamare krishna kanhaiya kahan manne wale hain…” he added.

As per Hindu scriptures, Nandi is a bull and a companion of Lord Shiva, to whom the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Gyanvapi is dedicated.

Adityanath informed that 26 lakh devotees visited the Ram Temple in Ayodhya after it was opened to the public on January 23.

Highlighting the changes in Ayodhya since he took over as the UP Chief Minister in 2017, Adiyanath said, “Humne vachan nibhaya aur mandir wahin banaya… Jo kaha wahi kiya. (We fulfilled our promise and built the temple where it was promised. We did what we said.) No development in Ayodhya before 2017. What was the mindset behind not developing Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi? Ayodhya ke saath anyay hua (Injustice was mated to Ayodhya). Ram Lalla returned home after 5000 years.”

“Earlier gunshots were heard in Ayodhya… Puja was prohibited… Bhagwan Ram bhakts were arrested if they were coming towards Ayodhya. There will be no more curfew in Ayodhya. Some people for personal interest had turned Ayodhya into a battleground. Everybody should visit the Ram temple,” he added.

In a veiled dig at previous SP and BSP governments, the Chief Minister further said that the image of Uttar Pradesh was in crisis before 2017.

“The whole country was overwhelmed on January 22, 2024. What was the condition of Uttar Pradesh before 2017? UP’s image before 2017 was in crisis. Today everybody wants to come to UP,” he said.

He then went on to slam the Opposition over politics and BJP’s demand. “But there is political stubbornness and votebank politics, and that is what results in disputes…We asked for just three places, there was no dispute with other places,” he said.

The three places that CM mentioned are Ayodhya– which is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram; Mathura — which is considered Lord Krishna’s birthplace and Varanasi’s Gyanvapi site– which is considered to be one of the 12 Jyotirlingas.

Varanasi Court allowed Hindu side petitioners to perform puja in the ‘Vyas Tehkhana’ of the Gyanvapi mosque premises on January 31.