Uddhav says 'Ram Rajya will come and there would be change'; challenges BJP to hold Lok Sabha, Assembly polls together

Uddhav has not been invited for the Ram temple ceremony in Ayodhya. Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction will go to Nashik and and perform a ‘maha aarti’ on the bank of river Godavari after offering prayers at the Kalaram Mandir on that day.

Mumbai: There would be a change and India would see Ram Rajya, Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said as he targeted the BJP-led NDA.

“There will be a change of power in the country and Ram Rajya will come,” said Thackeray, one of the key leaders of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc.

“I challenge…schedule Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha elections together,” he said.

The statement comes ahead of the launch of Shiv Sena (UBT)’s convention in Nashik on January 23, which coincides with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray and revolutionary nationalist and freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Incidentally it comes just one day after the consecration ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand Ayodhya temple on January 22.

Uddhav has not been invited for the Ram temple ceremony to be presided over by Prime Minister in Ayodhya. Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction incidentally have decided to go to Nashik and and perform a ‘maha aarti’ on the bank of river Godavari after offering prayers at the Kalaram Mandir on that day.

The Kalaram temple is located in the Panchwati area of Nashik, the pilgrimage capital of the state. The temple derives its name from a black statue of Lord Ram and the sanctum sanctorum also houses the idols of Sita and Laxman.

It is believed that they had stayed in Panchvati area during their 14-year exile.