Govt inspired by Lord Rama’s ideals of good governance: PM Narendra Modi

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government was following the ideals of Lord Ram and working from the start to establish the rule of honesty and good governance.

First look of idol revealed

Ahead of the consecration ceremony, Ram Lalla’s idol, which has been placed at the Ayodhya temple, has been revealed for the first time. The 51-inch idol depicts Lord Rama as a five-year-old in a standing posture. An arch behind it bears sculptures of 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu, and symbols of Om and Swastika. The black stone idol has been sculpted by Mysuru-based artist Arun Yogiraj. TNS

“Our government is trying from the first day to ensure that there is good governance in the country by following the ideals of Shri Ram and honesty reigns in the country. The inspiration for ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwaas, sabka prayas’ has come from Ram Rajya,” the PM said, dedicating to the nation nearly one lakh houses built under the Prime Minister Aawas Yojna-Urban in Maharashtra.

The PM got emotional while talking about these houses which he personally visited in Solapur before handing over keys to some of these residential units to the owners.

“It gives me immense satisfaction when the dreams of thousands of families are realised and their blessings become my greatest asset…. I wish I had the chance to live in one such house as a child,” the PM said, with a lump in his throat as he addressed the beneficiaries and repeated his quote, “Modi’s guarantee is a guarantee of fulfilment of all guarantees”.

Speaking about the Ram Mandir inauguration in Ayodhya for which he is currently on a stringent fasting ritual, the PM urged all citizens to light “Ram jyotis” in their homes on the evening of January 22.

“Ram Jyoti on January 22 will become an inspiration to ward off the darkness of poverty from the country,” he said, making a mention of commencing his ongoing temple visits from Nashik’s Panchavati, where he recently offered prayers at the famous Kalaram temple. The PM has been visiting temples associated with the episodes from Lord Rama and Mata Sita’s lives besides listening to the Ramayana in different regional languages such as Marathi, Telugu and Malayalam. In this series, he will visit three historic temples in Tamil Nadu on January 20 and 21 on the eve of Ram Temple inauguration. After laying the foundation stone for 8 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) projects worth around Rs 2,000 crores in Solapur today, the PM said the poor should get a pucca house, toilet, electricity connection, water noting: “All such facilities are a guarantee of social justice.”

Meanwhile in Bengaluru, Modi inaugurated the state-of-the-art Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC) campus. Built with an investment of Rs 1,600 crore, the 43-acre campus is Boeing’s largest such investment outside the US.

The Prime Minister also launched the Boeing Sukanya Program which aims to support the entry of more girl children from across India into the country’s growing aviation sector.

On the occasion where Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah was on stage, the PM said Boeing’s new facility was a clear indication of Karnataka’s rise as a new aviation hub.