PM will install Ram Lalla idol in January: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will install the idol of Ram Lalla in the Ram temple in January.

Yogi’s statement in Ayodhya came days after the Ram temple trust officials said they will be inviting the PM for the week-long ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration ceremony) during which the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple from the makeshift temple where he is currently lodged in. The temple is expected to be thrown open to devotees after that.

While it has been reported that the invitation has already been sent, a confirmation from the PM’s office is yet to be made public.


“When in January, PM Modi will himself install Ram Lalla’s idol in his own temple after 500 years, the world will find itself getting drawn towards Ayodhya,” Yogi said at a public meeting in Ayodhya held to mark nine years of the Modi government at the Centre.

The PM had also laid the foundation stone of the temple in August, 2020. In 2019, the BJP had promised to get the Ram temple built and the installation ceremony will be held months ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Yogi urged people to prepare for Lord Ram's "arrival" next year by targetting to light 21 lakh lamps on the annual Deepotsav organised in Ayodhya on the festival of Diwali. Last year, the city had built a new record by lighting close to 16 lakh lamps.

He said developmental projects worth Rs 32,000 crore are being developed in the holy city currently, including the international airport, railway stations and roads