Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday offered prayers at the makeshift Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya, on a visit meant to reiterate support for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site.
"It is everybody's wish that Ram Mandir must be constructed," he said on his first trip to the temple town after the Lok Sabha elections.
Adityanath unveiled a seven-foot Ram statue at a museum in the city and also took part in celebrations to mark the birthday of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
In his address at another event, the BJP leader said the previous governments had maintained distance from Lord Rama and argued that the deity was important for country's identity.
He claimed the original copy of the Constitution included a picture of Lord Ram, in an apparent reference to one of the illustrations in an early manuscript.
He thanked Ayodhya's seers for their “blessings” that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party get a second term at the Centre.
Adityanath unveiled a seven-foot statue of Kodandrama -- which has the deity armed with a bow and arrows -- at the Ram Katha Sanghralaya, the state government museum in Ayodhya. -- PTI
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