BJP announces statue of lord Ram to be put up in Allahabad

LUCKNOW: After chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced the installation of a Ram statue in Ayodhya during Deepotsav celebrations, his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday made announcement that a statue of Lord Ram with Nishad Raj would be put up near his erstwhile Lok Sabha constituency at Shringverpur Dham in Allahabad, now Prayagraj.

Making this announcement, deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya said a statue of Lord Ram embracing Nishad Raj would be installed at Shringverpur Dham on banks of the Ganga. It is believed that it was at Shringverpur that Ram, who was in exile, met Nishad Raj Kewat who offered to help him sail across Ganga.

Concept still in planning stage, move seen as BJP’s attempt to woo Nishads


Maurya said that Shringverpur is known for ‘samrasta’ (social harmony) and that is why the concept of installing a statue of Ram and Nishad Raj was thought of.

He, however, maintained that the concept was still in the planning stage and would be finalized soon.

The move is also being seen as the BJP’s attempt to woo the Nishads, who belong to the most backward caste community, even as the saffron party gears up to take on the combined opposition, essentially comprising the SP and BSP.

In byelections in Gorakhpur, the turf of CM Yogi Adityanath, the BJP had faced a defeat after SP had fielded Pravin Nishad, an MBC.

The announcement to install a statue of Ram in Ayodhya and now in Allahabad comes amid growing clamour around the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya as seers and saints gear up for a ‘Dharm Sabha’ in the temple town on November 25 to put pressure on the Centre to bring an ordinance or a Bill to pave way for construction of a grand Ram Temple.

Shiv Sena too has upped the ante over the Ram temple issue, with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray expected to reach Ayodhya on November 24.