We were able to get the 'Bow and Arrow' symbol with the blessings of Lord Ram, he said
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who arrived in Ayodhya on Sunday, hit out at Uddhav Thackeray and said that he went against his father's dreams for power but we rectified the mistake.
He also said that the issue of 'Ram Temple' in Ayodhya is not just a matter of politics but also of faith for the Shiv Sena party.
Mr Shinde said, "Some people are not happy with our Ayodhya Yatra. Some people are allergic to Hindutva and have been spreading misunderstandings against Hindutva. In 2014, a government with Hindutva ideology came into the country under the leadership of PM Modi."
"Balasaheb had given the slogan of 'Garv se kaho Hindu ho' (proudly say you are a Hindu). So, the ideology of Shiv Sena and BJP have the same," he added.
Taking an apparent attack on former Maharashtra chief minister, Shinde said that Uddhav Thackeray went against Balasaheb's dreams just for the greed of power.
"On one hand, Lord Ram took vanvaas (exile) just to fulfil his father's promise. While we all saw what happened on the other side. He (Uddhav Thackeray) went against his father's dreams for the greed of power. People had voted for a BJP-Shiv Sena government, but some people took wrong steps, which we rectified 8-9 months back," Shinde added.
The Chief Minister said that thousands of party workers and devotees of Lord Ram were present when he arrived in Lucknow on Saturday.
"Today also, the devotees are present in large numbers. The whole atmosphere was very blissful. I would like to thank them. Whenever I think of coming to Ayodhya, I feel a wave of happiness in my heart. When we came here, people showed us many new constructions," he said.
He added, "We were able to get the 'Bow and Arrow' symbol and 'Shiv Sena' name, only with the blessings of Lord Ram. I had said after becoming the CM that I will come here. I won't be able to forget this day in my life. Our whole government, Deputy CM Fadnavis have come here. Now, we will be going to perform aarti on Saryu river".
Recalling his earlier visit to Ayodhya, he said that only the platform was laid, but now pillars have also come up.
"It seems like a dream coming true. The idol will also be installed in January next year. The construction of a grand divine Ram temple in Ayodhya was the dream of millions of Ram devotees. But, nobody, except PM Modi did anything for the Ram Mandir. He has fulfilled Balasaheb Thackeray's dream".
Shinde added, "Some people used to say 'Mandir wahi banayenge, tareek nahi bataenge' (We will build the temple, but won't tell the date). PM Modi not just build the temple, and also told the date," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)