Ayodhya, Oct. 20 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday hit out at the Samajwadi Party and the Congress for their stance on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said now diyas (lamps) are being lit where bullets were once fired. He made the comment at Ayodhya's Ram Katha Park while addressing the gathering on the occasion of the ninth Deepotsav celebrations after the symbolic coronation (Rajyabhishek) of the artistes dressed as Lord Ram and Sita when they returned to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile. "During the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in this very Ayodhya, the Congress said Ram is a myth, while the Samajwadi Party fired bullets at Ram devotees," he said. "They made Ayodhya Faizabad. But we renamed it Ayodhya Dham," he further said in his attack on the two parties. Continuing his attack on the Samajwadi Party, Adityanath said: "They fired gunshots (on karsevaks) but we lit diyas." Adityanath was referring to the firing on kar sevaks by the then Mulayam Singh Yadav government on two separate occasions on October 30 and November 2, 1990 during the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. "Politics cannot control faith. They (Samajwadi Party) play caste politics. They are again trying to create the same situation," Adityanath said as seers sitting in the audience responded with chants of "Jai Shri Ram". "This Deepotsav, 1.51 crore diyas are being lit across the state," Adityanath said. He criticised the Opposition for turning down the invitation for the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in January 2024. "When PM Narendra Modi presided over the opening ceremony of Ram Mandir, the entire Opposition boycotted the event," the chief minister added. "These are the same people who bow before Babur's grave, but when they are invited to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Mandir, they reject it," Yogi said. He was referring to the Mughal ruler Babur who invaded India in 1526. "These lamps are not just lamps; these lamps are also symbols of the victory of faith over 500 years of darkness. These lamps are symbolic representations of the kind of humiliation we had to endure during those 500 years and the kinds of struggles our ancestors had to fight. Back then, Lord Shri Ram resided in a tent, and now, as the ninth edition of Deepotsav is being celebrated, Lord Ram resides in his grand and divine temple," he remarked. "When Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Ram Mandir, he was the first PM to come to Ayodhya," he remarked. Noting that Ayodhya has changed a lot since 2017, when BJP formed the government in the state, he said, "Now, Ayodhya is being recognised as a tourist destination. Each year around six to 10 crore tourists come to Ayodhya." "Before 2017, attacks on Ramleela and Durga puja pandals were common. But after 2017, no such incident is reported," he said. Before addressing the gathering, chief minister welcomed artistes dressed as Lord Ram and Sita at the Ram Katha Park helipad. Like previous years, artistes dressed as Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman touched down at the Ram Katha Park in a helicopter, replicating the victorious journey of the trio by the Pushpak Vimana, a mythical flying chariot, as detailed in the Ramayan. Adityanath then carried out a symbolic coronation of Ram, dressed in traditional attire with a glittering headgear. Overhead, a helicopter showered flowers on the gathering. Besides Adityanath, BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, Ayodhya mayor Girish Pati Tripathi and others pulled the chariot carrying Ram and Sita from the helipad to the main venue at the Ram Katha Park A symbolic aarti of the artistes was performed by the CM followed by others. Uttar Pradesh ministers Surya Pratap Shahi and Jaiveer Singh and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai also performed the aarti. Trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was also present....