Yogi government plans 100-metre-tall statue of Lord Rama in Ayodhya

The Uttar Pradesh government has planned to build a 100 metre statue of Lord Rama in Ayodhya. Reports quoted an announcement by the Uttar Pradesh Raj Bhavan that the Yogi Adityanath government plans to build the statue on the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya.

 The tourism department of the state has presented a proposal in this regard to Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. It is a part of the state government’s plan to promote religious tourism in the state.

This comes amid a controversy over a recent tourism booklet released by the Uttar Pradesh tourism ministry. The booklet, released to mark the completion of six months of Yogi government, has omitted Agra’s iconic monument Taj Mahal.

The tourism department booklet also outlined plans for new attractions like a tour of monuments and locations central to the Ramayana.

This move by the state’s tourism department had provided ammunition to the opposition, which lost no opportunity to attack the Yogi government over the issue. The opposition attack was led by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who posted a tweet saying “Andher Nagri Chaupat Raja”.

Justifying the move, the state government had said that there was no deliberate attempt to ignore Taj Mahal, claiming that the booklet focused on the works undertaken by the incumbent government.