LUCKNOW: Dubbing Kalyan Singh’s demise as an end of an era, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said BJP stalwart’s death was a personal loss for him and a huge loss for the party.
In a statement issued on Saturday night, the CM said there was a time when the triumvirate of former PM late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former deputy PM LK Advani and Kalyan Singh used to be the face of the BJP.
"I am fortunate that I have received the love and cooperation of all three stalwarts. Kalyan Singh Ji was one of the leading voices of the (Ram) temple movement. He did not take even a second to renounce power for the sake of the temple. Such people will rarely be found in positions of power. Lord Ram came first for him, power later. This is the reason that after the disputed structure was brought down on December 6, 1992, he took moral responsibility for the incident as the CM of the state,” he said.
The CM recalled Singh’s association with his gurus, saying that his Dada Guru Mahant Digvijay Nath and Guru Mahant Avaidyanath ji were also linked with the temple movement and that is why, whenever they met or Singh visited the Gorakhnath Temple, they had long discussions over the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodha.
“Whenever there was a discussion on the temple, he would say that its construction should start during his lifetime,” he said.
The CM added that Singh was synonymous with purity, transparency and public service in Indian politics.
He said that Singh always struggled for the poor, weak and marginalised sections of the society. As CM of UP, his services would also be remembered, Yogi said.
