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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Sep 19, 2022, 08:53 PM IST
A local resident has built a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya for state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, placing a life-size idol of him inside, complete with bow and arrow and a halo around his head. The idol is clad in saffron robes.
The temple has been built on the Faizabad-Prayagraj highway in Bharatkund area of the district, about 25 kilometres away from the Ram Janambhoomi. Bharatkund is believed to be the place where Lord Ram's brother Bharat bade him farewell before the former went into exile.
Ayodhya, UP | A temple has been built in the name of CM Yogi Adityanath in Maurya ka Purwa village near Bharatkund in Ayodhya; the temple shows CM Yogi in the form of a God. pic.twitter.com/UuUSxXC3Fk — ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 18, 2022
Prabhakar Maurya, the local resident who built the temple, said, "We have built the temple of Yogiji, who is building the temple of Lord Ram." Maurya said he is deeply impressed by the works of the Chief Minister.
"The way the Chief Minister has done public welfare works, he has acquired a deity-like place. That is why the idea of a temple for him came to my mind," he said. Maurya said he keeps reciting hymns in front of Adityanath's idol every day, just as he does for Lord Shri Ram.
He said he is jobless and landless, but earns around Rs 1 lakh a month posting Bhajans and religious songs on YouTube. He said he built the temple with this money. Special prayers are offered twice every day, followed by morning and evening prayers, in the temple before the chief minister's idol. After the prayers, 'prasad' is also distributed to worshippers.
When the news reached him, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted a cryptic tweet. "He has moved two steps ahead of him...Now the question is, who is the first (ye to unse bhi do kadam aagey nikle...Ab sawal ye hai ki pehle kaun)?" he wrote.
(With inputs from PTI)
