Barabanki (UP) (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday asserted that the day of 'Qayamat' (doomsday) will never come and hence the Babri Masjid will never be rebuilt.
Speaking at an event in Barabanki, the district neighbouring Ayodhya, Adityanath said, "We had said that 'Ram Lalla, hum aayenge, mandir wahi banaayenge' (Child Ram, we will come and build the temple right there). Has the temple been built? Is there any doubt?"
The audience replied by chanting "Jai Shri Ram".
"The day of 'Qayamat' (doomsday) will never come and hence the Babri structure will never be rebuilt. Those who are dreaming of the day of 'Qayamat' will rot away, that day will never come," he said.
Adityanath was taking part in religious rituals organised at Ram Janaki Temple in Dulhadepur Kuti, Barabanki, in the memory of late Mahant Baba Harishankar Das Maharaj, according to a statement from the Uttar Pradesh government.
Two weeks ago, Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir -- who was earlier suspended from Trinamool Congress for his announcement that a replica of Babri Masjid will be built in West Bengal's Murshidabad district -- had declared that the construction of Babri 2.0 will begin at noon on February 11. Following this, a Hindutva fringe group had called on the people of Uttar Pradesh to march to Murshidabad.
The fractious Babri Masjid issue dates back to more than a century.
A Supreme Court verdict had settled the issue on November 9, 2019, by backing the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruling that an alternative five-acre plot to be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.
Hindus had been contending that Babri Masjid -- a three-domed mosque built by or at the behest of Moghul emperor Babur -- was erected by the invading Muslim armies after razing an existing Ram temple.
It turned into a legal dispute in 1885 when a mahant went to court seeking permission to build a canopy outside the mosque. The plea was dismissed. In December 1949, unidentified miscreants spirited a Lord Ram idol into the mosque. The structure was destroyed by a large mob of kar sevaks on December 6, 1992.
Speaking in Barabanki, Adityanath said that after 500 years, the "glorious moment" of Ram temple construction took place in Ayodhya.
"In these 500 years, many kings and emperors have come, many governments have come. India gained Independence in 1947 and after the first elections in 1952, governments were formed. But why didn't the idea of building a temple for Lord Ram at his birthplace ever occur to them?" he asked.
Taking a jibe at opposition parties, he said there is no place for Ramdrohis, or traitors of Lord Ram, anywhere.
"Some people adopt an opportunistic attitude. They remember Ram when a crisis strikes and forget him later. So, Lord Ram has also forgotten them now. There is no place for Ramdrohis anywhere," he said.
Intensifying his attack, Adityanath said, "We want to tell those who were firing on Ram devotees, obstructing Ram's work, and those who are still dreaming of the Babri structure: the day of doom will never come. Don't live for the doomsday, learn to live according to the rules in India."
If someone breaks the law, the chief minister said, the path only leads to hell, not heaven.
He added that every Indian must work with a positive mindset for the vision of 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat' (One India, Better India).
"Every saint's spiritual practice is for his country. His 'dharma' (moral duty) is also dedicated to the country. Both complements each other. One is the body and the other is the soul, the two cannot be kept apart," Adityanath said.
He said India cannot be separated from Sanatan Dharma.
"That is why you see that Sanatan Dharma, India and Indianness are being attacked from all over the world. We must be vigilant against attacks from within and outside. Because those who don't like India's progress, those who cannot digest the resolve of Viksit Bharat, are engaged in a conspiracy," Adityanath said.
He said people must brace themselves to stop three types of evil mindsets -- "the one that is conspiring, the one falling prey to this conspiracy, and the one selling themselves out and working for that conspiracy".
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Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
