Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that through the installation of Lord Ram's statue at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the foundation has been laid for 'Ram Rajya'. Speaking after releasing a CD on Lord Ram brought out by singer Jayashree Aravind on January 19, Bommai added: "'Ram Rajya' means an "opportunity for all and prosperity, and no sign of poverty anywhere. Justice for everyone"."
"With the commitment shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Ram Lalla is being held on January 22. All of us are privileged and fortunate. Let everyone live happily due to the establishment of 'Ram Rajya'," the former Chief Minister said.
He added: "A time must come for everything and Lord Ram had been kept out of his birthplace in Ayodhya for more than 500 years. The 'Pran Pratishtha' of Lord Ram has been fixed for January 22. This is a great moment. It seems everything would be decided earlier because on Thursday, Lord Ram entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple. Today, the songs on Lord Ram were released which was quite a coincidence."
He said: "Lord Ram's avatar is very special as he had the 'avatar' of Lord Vishnu. But the avatar of Lord Ram is best because it was very noble."
"Whenever they committed mistakes, Ram would show the right path. There is no life without Ram's principle. From childhood till he went to forest, he never compromised with his principles. They talk about ideology but others follow it," he added.
Babri Masjid, built by Mir Baqi, commander of Mughal emperor Babur in 1528, was demolished by kar sevaks belonging to Hindu majoritarian outfits on December 6, 1992. The demolition, which happened as a result of a concerted Ram Janmabhoomi movement, resulted in communal riots over months, which led to over 2,000 deaths. The Babri Masjid has been a contested site since 1885 as religious leaders and Hindutva outfits considered it Ram Janambhoomi or the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
A legal fight ensued in 1950 when Gopal Visharad Sharma approached Faizabad district court for the right to worship idols of Ram Lalla, which were placed there in 1949. On September 30, 2010, the High Court, in a 2:1 majority, ruled a three-way division of the disputed area between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
Nine years later, in 2019, the Supreme Court granted the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land to deity Ram Lalla and directed the Uttar Pradesh government to allot five acres of land to Muslims for building a mosque. Though the Supreme Court referred to the mosque's demolition as "an egregious violation of the rule of law," the verdict was criticised for accepting the logic of "faith over fact" and granting legal possession of land to those responsible for the demolition.