Ram Mandir not an issue for BJP, it's a sentiment of our workers: UP minister Yogendra Upadhyay

Yogendra Upadhyay, state minister of higher education, science and technology in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat's Alok Tripathi spoke on a wide range of topics ranging from Ram Mandir to politics and education.

Lucknow:At present, BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government is working round the clock for the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The Chief Minister is taking rounds of Ayodhya regularly to ensure there is no flaw in the system while the other ministers and bureaucrats are busy giving the final touches to the preparations.

Amid this, ETV Bharat held an exclusive interview with Yogendra Upadhyay, state minister of higher education, science and technology. The excerpts follow:

Question: After a long wait, Lord Ram will finally be enthroned at his temple on 22 January. What would you say on this?

Answer: This has been the wish of the countrymen and now it is getting fulfilled. Several wars have taken place over this issue in the last 400 years. We remember that when we were participating in the Ram Mandir movement, we used to raise a slogan, 'Ram Lalla, we will come, we will build the temple there.' These were not just slogans but the vow of lakhs of workers. Today crores of Hindus are celebrating across the country and abroad.

Question: Talking about the development works in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says that the previous governments did not even think about developing Ayodhya, although you had governments both in the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. Does this mean that your previous governments also ignored Ayodhya?

Answer: See, Ayodhya was not neglected at that time because if the basic issue of Ram Janmabhoomi had been achieved, then development would have been undertaken accordingly. It was better to have a planned development of Ayodhya rather than wasting money by undertaking stray development and then demolishing those. The development that is happening in Ayodhya under the government of Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi is happening after the location of the temple has been decided. Therefore, development work is being done considering the temple as the centre point. Therefore, with planned and good development, Ayodhya is going to become the most attractive religious city in the world.

Question: About 10,000 invited guests are going to attend the pran pratishtha ceremony. This apart, thousands of people are also reaching Ayodhya. When are you and the rest of the cabinet members going to pay visit to Lord Ram in Ayodhya?

Answer: People are excited across country and want to reach Ayodhya on January 22 itself. A system has been brought in place to ensure there is no chaos during the event. The entire cabinet along with the Chief Minister will go to see Ram Lalla on February 1. After returning from there, we will attend the budget session from February 2.

Question: You are also the Higher Education Minister. Now that your government is saying that we are returning to 'Ram Rajya', are you taking any measures to tackle the neglect of Sanskrit language?

Answer: You have asked a good question. Certainly, Sanskrit has been neglected. I myself had left Sanskrit in high school. When Sanskrit started ending, our culture also started ending. Therefore it is important for Sanskrit to remain alive. Sanskrit is the language that connects India. Programmes and courses are being devised with this view in mind.

Question: You are a politician, so political questions can't be averted. Will the issue of Ram Mandir be prominent in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?

Answer: Ram Mandir is not an issue for us. It is a sentiment of the workers and volunteers of Bharatiya Janata Party. That's why we were always associated with it.

Question: The topic of Shankaracharya's displeasure is in discussion. He is saying there is division between Akshat BJP workers and Sangh so the event has become political. Do you agree with this?

Answer: No one has stopped anyone from distributing rice only to Sangh volunteers. VHP and Sangh are cultural organisations. This is not even a political organisation. Anyone who wants to join can join them. The temple committee itself is inviting everyone.

Question: Yogi ji is the Chief Minister of the state. He is also the Mahant of Gorakshpeeth. If he wanted, Shankaracharya could have been persuaded. Shankaracharya's displeasure on such occasions is very disturbing. Do you agree with this?

Answer: Shankaracharya ji is revered by all. Whatever point he has raised, only he knows why he raised it. Such a grand ceremony is being organised, so neither we nor Shankaracharya want to raise dispute. He has only expressed his opinion but has not prevented anyone from his side from attending the event.

Question: About one and a half years ago, the Higher Education Department had issued a government order that fees should be the same in all universities, but it is not followed. Even Lucknow University does not accept this. What are you doing in this direction?

Answer: See, universities are autonomous bodies but education is under control of the government. The government has also suggested them to bring uniformity in the curriculum and fees. Gradually efforts are being taken in this direction. Very soon there will be an effort to implement one programme, one curriculum and one fee structure across all universities.

Question: When universities charge more fees, colleges will also put more burden on children and parents. It is natural that this will make education expensive. The government must have wanted to reduce the fees, that is why the government order was issued. Then where lies the difficulty?

Answer: There is no problem anywhere. Some universities are providing better facilities and so want to increase their fees. The government wants a maximum number of private and government universities to open in Uttar Pradesh. We are moving towards setting up one government university in every division. The private universities are also growing rapidly. In such a situation, there will be higher competition and fees will automatically reduce.

Question: Whom do you consider to be your biggest challenge in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections? The alliance or the Bahujan Samaj Party?

Answer: At this time no party is a challenge for us. We can clearly see that NDA will cross 400 seats. We will win all the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

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