Ayodhya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the saffron dharma dhwaja to mark the completion of the Ram Temple built on the land where the Babri Masjid once stood. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended the ceremony. Modi called the flag a symbol of Ram Rajya and presented the event as the conclusion of a struggle that he said lasted generations.
He linked the moment to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the political mobilisation that followed. He raised a triangular saffron flag carrying the word Om and an image of the kovidara tree. He described it as a sign of cultural renewal. He urged citizens to embrace values he associated with Ram Rajya and said these values would guide development goals for 2047.
The event revived older debates. Modi did not mention the deaths of more than 2,000 people in the violence that followed the demolition or the Supreme Court judgment that called the demolition unlawful while granting the land for the temple and directing land for a new mosque. Critics said this silence weakened the values of equality and moral governance that Mahatma Gandhi linked with Ram Rajya.
Opposition leaders questioned the prime minister’s decision to hoist a religious flag. Congress leader Rashid Alvi said the act violated the constitutional principle of no state religion. Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad said he was excluded from the event because of his Dalit identity and said the act disrespected equality and dignity.
