Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said while the Congress kept dragging the Ram temple issue ever since Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paved the way for its construction and fulfilled former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh's dream.

The Modi government also fulfilled the veteran leader's wish to empower the backward and the poor, Shah said at a function here to mark the second death anniversary of Kalyan Singh.

"The beginning which was made by Babuji (Kalyan Singh) has been given a shape by Narendra Modi, who worked for the holistic empowerment of the backward classes in nine years by undertaking a lot of work," he said.

Singh's death anniversary is being observed by the BJP as the 'Hindu Gaurav Diwas', Shah said, urging party workers to ensure the BJP's victory on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2024 as a tribute to Kalyan Singh.

"There can not be a bigger homage to respected Babuji than this. Make Modi the prime minister again and send the message to the country that Uttar Pradesh is an impenetrable fortress of the BJP," the Union minister said.

"When Babuji became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he gave momentum to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement, brought the BJP thought of the welfare of the poor to the ground... I am happy Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completed what Babuji had started," he added.

"The Congress party dragged the Ram temple issue since Independence but Modiji, soon after the (top) court's decision came, ensured that ‘bhoomipujan’ for the temple (in Ayodhya) was performed without any bloodshed. And under Modiji's leadership, Ram Lalla will reside in his grand temple in early 2024 after 550 years. It will be a day of satisfaction and pride for Ram bhakts the world over," Shah said.

Stressing that he has come from Delhi only to pay tributes to Kalyan Singh, Shah said, "Today, I want to tell the people of Uttar Pradesh that there are moments that come in everyone's life which give the actual introduction to their identities. Such a moment came in Babuji's life when Ram devotees thronged Ayodhya and pressure was on him to stop the 'kar sevaks' by firing bullets but Babuji decided at that moment, 'I will not shoot, I will give up the post of chief minister'." Kalyan Singh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992.

Shah recalled how Singh had resigned in the wake of the demolition.

The Union minister also said that when he had come to Uttar Pradesh as the in-charge of the BJP’s state unit in 2013, "for 11 hours straight, he made me aware of the details of all the districts of Uttar Pradesh".

"Every day till the counting day, he guided twice daily on the elections in UP and the result was that all records were broken and the BJP posted a victory on 73 seats," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, Union minister Piyush Goyal, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president Bhupendra Singh Chowdhary and other prominent leaders paid tributes to Kalyan Singh.

Kalyan Singh's son and BJP MP Rajveer Singh Raju was also present.

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