New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s devotion and strict adherence to ascetic rituals, as suggested under ‘Yam Niyam’, saying he started the ‘Bhakti ka Andalon’ ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at the grand Ram Temple complex.

Speaking on the discussion on Ram Temple construction and Ram Lalla’s consecration in the Lok Sabha, the Home Minister said, “PM Modi started Bhakti ka Aandolan instead of politicisation of consecration ceremony,” adding that the Opposition should have taken lessons from it.

Shah said that PM Modi led the nation in paying obeisance to Lord Ram and strictly followed ‘Yam Niyam’ for full 11 days which included “sleeping on the floor, consuming only coconut water and hearing Ram Bhajans in various languages".

Blasting the Opposition and naysayers for constantly finding fault and playing with the beliefs of 140 crore people, Shah advised them not to behave like ‘havan mein haddi’, as goes a proverb in Gujarati.

The Home Minister said that when the Supreme Court, in its historic August 5 order, gave the go-ahead for the construction of Ram Temple, the rival parties resorted to fear-mongering, claiming that riots will pan out across the country.

“They forgot that this is the Modi government. The entire journey, from ground-breaking ceremony to Pran Pratishtha, happened in a peaceful environment and today the entire nation is celebrating the joyous occasion,” Shah said amid cheers and bench-thumping by the treasury benches.

Further revealing the rationale behind not naming the Ayodhya airport after Lord Ram, the Home Minister said it was done at the insistence of PM Modi.

“It was a popular proposal to name it (the airport) after Lord Ram and the family members, including Raja Dashrath, but the Prime Minister was clear on identifying and crediting the role of everyone, including Lord Hanuman, Maharishi Valmiki, squirrel and more," he told the House.