The consecration ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla (child deity) on January 22 and the commencement of India’s “Amrit Kaal” are not a mere coincidence, but an indication of India’s imminent rise to global prominence over the next 25 years, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.

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“Amrit Kaal”, which roughly translates to “golden era”, refers to the period leading up to the centenary of India’s Independence.

Addressing the Shri Purani Swami Smruti Mahotsav, organised by Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam (SGVP) in Ahmedabad, the Union Minister hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for successfully taking on the task of reconstructing the “holy place where Lord Ram was born and was destroyed 550 years ago”.

“Court cases were filed, made complicated, and things were delayed. Then a government was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, and with the blessings and inspirations of seers, all the paths became smooth, and on January 22, Ram Lalla will sit in his house again…so it cannot be a coincidence that the restoration of Ram Lalla in his home and the beginning of India’s Amrit Kaal are happening together. It is not a coincidence, it is nature’s sign that India is going to be at the top (of the world) in the 25 years of its Amrit Kaal,” he said.

The Union minister’s statement comes on the day PM Modi inaugurated a new airport and a redeveloped railway station in Ayodhya, and said that the race to build a developed India is getting new energy from the temple town. The idol of Lord Ram will be installed in the Ayodhya temple in the presence of Modi on January 22.

Shah later said: “The whole world is eager to understand the scientific viewpoints of our Vedas, Upanishads and philosophy, and at that very moment, Ram Lalla will enter his house. Modiji will go to Ayodhya on 22nd (January) and will perform the consecration of Ram Lalla there in the presence of saints.”

Modi’s leadership has worked “to awaken the soul of the country”, he added.

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After India gained independence, people with faith in India had a feeling that the country had lost direction in its efforts to become “Bharat”, Shah said. “All of us BJP workers have been trying since 1950 to change this direction. Then a day came when the former chief minister of Gujarat became the prime minister of the country. Today, the whole world is praising India… the people of the country have also resolved to create such an India,” he added.