Ayodhya rules UP politics again

CM nod to theme park in city while BJP revives demand for Ram temple.

With elections in Uttar Pradesh round the corner, Ayodhya has started moving towards the centre stage of the state politics.

UP chief minister (CM) Akhilesh Yadav on Monday approved a proposal for the construction of an international theme park in Ayodhya. The CM earlier sanctioned the construction of amphitheatre and Bhajan Sandhya Sthal in the temple town with '15 crore in August.

A state government spokesman said the theme park will be built in the international Ramlila Centre to make Ayodhya as a top tourist destination. The Cabinet approval for the park comes a day before Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma inspected the site for the proposed — Centre-sponsored — Ramayana Museum.

The Centre has identified a 25-acre site, barely 15km from the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, where the Ramayana Museum will come up as a part of the Ramayana Circuit.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Bareilly on Monday, BJP state president Keshav Maurya said apart from development, the issue of Ram temple would be the BJP’s agendas for the UP elections. BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian had earlier said the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is “very much part of the BJP’s election manifesto”.

He claimed he would petition the Supreme Court for a decision so that the structure could be facilitated without delay.

Many say it isn’t a coincidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to celebrate Dusshera in Lucknow this year and ended his speech with the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” — an indication that the issue was very much on the BJP agenda.

Meanwhile, BSP president Mayawati on Monday charged both the governments of attempting to use religion for electoral gains. The sudden move by the BJP and the SP to bring back the issue of Ayodhya into limelight is inspired by “electoral politics”, she said.

In a statement, she questioned the Centre’s move for the Ramayana Museum and the state government’s decision to build a theme park in Ayodhya just before the Assembly elections.