DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM ‘NOTAMEREDATEONCALENDAR,ORIGINOFANEWKAALCHAKRA’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya January 22, 2024 Ram not dispute, is solution: Modi MAULSHREE SETH & VIKAS PATHAK EXCERPTS OF PM’S SPEECH PAGE 11 MARKING A milestone in India’s socio-political history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation Monday in the consecration of the idol at the new Ram temple in Ayodhya, underlining that it is an inspiration to “move towards a brighter future”, that “Ram is not vivaad (dispute), Ram is the samadhan (solution), Ram is for everyone”. AYODHYA, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 Inatelevisedaddresstoagathering on the temple premises, shortlyafterthePranPratishthan ceremonywherehewasjoinedby RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat,UttarPradeshGovernor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Modi said, “January 22, 2024 is not a meredateonthecalendar,itisthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EDITORIAL PAGE SEMINAL MILESTONE, JOURNEY AHEAD Bridging Ram, Rashtra distance needs determined exploring of common ground PAGE 10 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY New idol gets a name — Balak Ram MAULSHREE SETH AYODHYA, JANUARY 22 CARRYINGAsilver“chatra”(umbrella) for Ram Lalla, Prime MinisterNarendraModientered the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) of the new Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir at 12.10 pm Monday, signalling the start of thePranPratishtha(consecration ceremony) in Ayodhya. With the completion of the ceremony, the new 51-inch idol of the child Ram will henceforth be referred to as “Balak Ram” of Ayodhya, said those associated withtheconsecrationceremony. The old idol of Ram Lalla has been placed in front of the new idol inside the sanctum sanctorum. ThePrimeMinister,whowas later introduced as a “tapasvi rashtriya neta” (ascetic national CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, at the consecration ceremony of the new idol inside the Ram temple in Ayodhya. PTI Bhagwat: Ram Rajya coming, end disputes, take all along BJP, RSS frame a new challenge for Opp in election year VIKAS PATHAK VIKAS PATHAK CALLING FOR “hosh” (reason) at atimeof “josh”(excitement),RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan BhagwatonMondayunderlined the need to end disputes and take everyone along, including those with “different beliefs”. Speaking in Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony, Bhagwat said India's “swa” (self) had returned, and the temple would represent the rise of a “new Bharat”. “Ram Rajya is coming,” he said. “Weareallchildrenof Bharat Varsha. We have to maintain good conduct and end disputes. We have to stop the habit of fighting over things,” he said. The truth is that Ram resides CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 Banerjee leads the all-faith rally in Kolkata Monday. Partha Paul At all-faith rally, Mamata slams BJP for ‘politicising religion’ before LS polls ATRI MITRA & RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, JANUARY 22 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday targeted the BJP for attempting to politicise religion ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and asked if the party was “anti-women” for “omitting”GoddessSitafromthe discourse on Lord Ram, whose temple was inaugurated in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, earlier in the day. Mamata made the comments at a public rally after leading an all-faith “Sanhati Yatra” in Kolkata. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JANUARY 22 was presaged, way back on November 9, 2019, when the Supreme Court clearedthewayfortheconstruction of the temple; and then on August 5, 2020, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhoomi pujan at the site in Ayodhya. Yet, on Monday, with the nation watching, the consecration ● of the Ram Lalla in the new temple led by the Prime Minister marked not only a milestone in the history of the BJP-RSS but also a new chapter in national politics. E EXPLAINED NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ayodhya puts troubled past behind, looks to present — for its future ‘PM said the right thing,’ says petitioner’s son Iqbal Ansari, ‘future is in vikas’ RAKESH SINHA AYODHYA, NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 Diyas lit on the banks of Saryu in Ayodhya. Vishal Srivastav LISTENING TO Prime Minister Narendra Modi explain what January 22 means — and should mean — for the nation, Iqbal Ansari,aspecialguestattheconsecration ceremony Monday, says he couldn’t agree more. “The Prime Minister said exactly what should have been said…he said the right thing,” says Ansari, a response that markstheenormousdistancehe has travelled. As the son of Hashim Ansari who spent a life- time in courts as a litigant in the RamJanmabhoomi-BabriMasjid titlesuitcasebeforehediedaged 95 in 2016. It was that case in which a benchof thehighestcourtunanimously ruled in favour of the temple in 2019. From the time Iqbal Ansari showered petals on Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he came here last month to unveil the town’s new airport, its upgraded railway station and a slew of development projects, he’s had no respite from reporters knocking on the doors of his little house. Heknowswhy—thetyranny of the soundbite. “They want me to say something controversial. I have no time for reporters who try to dig up the past. That battle is over. My father and I had said longbeforetherulingthatwhatever the verdict, we will accept it. And the Supreme Court gave an order which we accepted. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata