Ram Vilas Vedanti, a prominent leader in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and former Bharatiya Janata Party MP, died of a heart attack at the age of 67 in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. His last rites will be performed in Ayodhya.
Buildings were decorated with colourful lights and earthen lamps dotted houses as people across the country thronged temples and celebrated Diwali with pomp on Monday.
A mahant at the Hanumangarhi Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday invited Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to stay on the temple premises after he vacates the government bungalow allotted to him as member of Parliament.
Errol Musk, who is the Global Advisor to Servotech Renewable Power System Ltd, began his India trip on June 1 and will be in the country till June 6, a spokesperson for the Haryana-based company said in a statement.
Errol Musk, father of tech billionaire Elon Musk, visited the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday afternoon and described the experience as 'wonderful' and one of the 'best things' he has ever done.
According to Hindu scriptures, Ganga Dussehra marks the day the holy river Ganga descended to Earth from Lord Shiva's locks, moved by King Bhagirath's penance. The day is considered highly auspicious and symbolises virtue, penance, and the collective well-being of humanity.
Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after offering prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya.
A Naga sadhu was killed allegedly by his two disciples on the premises of Ayodhya's famous Hanumangarhi Temple, police said on Thursday.
This was Murmu's first visit to Ayodhya since the newly-built Ram temple's consecration ceremony was held on January 22.
The Gyanvapi issue has been at the centre of a long-drawn legal battle with the Hindu side arguing that the Gyanvapi mosque was allegedly built on the remains of a pre-existing temple, while the Muslim side has contested the claim.
Rammu Guru, the head priest of the temple, said, "Sai Baba was being worshiped without proper knowledge, which is forbidden according to scriptures."
Alleging negligence in the construction of the temple, Das claimed that there was also no arrangement for the drainage of rainwater from the temple premises after the showers on Saturday midnight.
While the Congress top brass has declined an invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit stuck to its plan to offer prayers in the holy city on Makar Sankranti.
During their visit to the holy city, the Congress leaders will take a dip in Saryu river, and then visit the Ram temple and Hanumangarhi temple, Rai said on Sunday.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet will hold its meeting on Thursday in Ayodhya as the city gears up for the opening of the Ram temple in January.
While the Congress top brass has declined the invitation to the January 22 consecration ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram temple, the party's Uttar Pradesh unit plans to go ahead with its own event a week earlier in the holy town.
Invitees to the 'pran pratishtha' consecration ceremony at the Ram temple started arriving Sunday in Ayodhya -- once a sleepy town now resplendent with new infrastructure and gripped by heightened religious fervour on the eve of a seminal event in India's political and religious history.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the motive behind the inauguration of the "incomplete" temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS.
The mahant, Raju Das, said that burning of pages from the Ramcharitmanas by the Akhil Bharatiya OBC Mahasabha in Lucknow on Sunday too was Maurya' work.
On Monday, a new chapter will be written in Ayodhya's and the country's history with the consecration ceremony at the newly-built Ram temple which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and over 7,000 guests.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country and of various tribal communities and prominent personalities.
A court in Varanasi on Friday directed the Archaeological Survey of India to conduct a "detailed scientific survey" -- including excavations, wherever necessary -- to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple is built upon a temple.
Thousands of Shiv Sainiks are expected to accompany Eknath Shinde on his visit to Ayodhya on Sunday, his first such visit after being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in June last year.
Prior to the function, the prime minister will take part in 'pooja' and 'darshan' at Hanumangarhi, a statement by the PMO said on Tuesday.
Despite the national capital recording its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, pollution levels may rise due to low night temperatures and sporadic burning of firecrackers though there is a ban on their manufacture, storage, sale and use within the city.
Joining the chorus against the film, the Samajwadi Party said the faithful are hurt by its "cheap and superficial dialogues" and that the film was part of an "agenda".
By the end of 2023, the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed, Rai said.
After paying obeisance to Ramlalla and overseeing the construction work of the temple, Shinde said he is happy that the dream of "Hindu Hriday Samrat" Balasaheb Thackeray and crores of Ram bhakts is being fulfilled.
As the evening progressed, Ram bhajans echoed at virtually each and every street of the temple town and earthen lamps lined the streets from Naya Ghat and Ram ki Paidhi to Hanumangarhi, giving children a perfect selfie background.
Days after local civic body declared Aalamgiri Masjid 'hazardous' and pasted notice banning entry into building, Hanumangarhi temple trust, which is in possession of the masjid land, not only allowed its reconstruction and agreed to bear cost but also welcomed Muslims to offer namaz in premises.
Eleven chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states will offer prayers at the makeshift temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on Wednesday.
Delhi chief minister Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday offered prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, and said his government will include the temple town of Ayodhya in the Delhi government's free pilgrimage scheme.
Kovind, who is on his first visit to Ayodhya after the landmark 2019 Supreme Court verdict paved the way for the construction of the temple, also offered prayers at the Hanumangarhi shrine, about 2 km away.
Gold and silver will be used in the design of the main doors of the temple.
Booked in two cases for allegedly disturbing communal harmony and committing other electoral offences during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was on Monday granted bail by a special court for lawmakers in Sultanpur.
'This Sunday holds special significance for us, as we woke up to a new and transformed Sunday, with a feeling of relief that the lingering issue of Ayodhya dispute has been resolved once and for all'
Ayodhya is decked up for the bhoomi pujan that will be attended at the Ram Janmabhoomi by 175 people, who figure in a select guest list of seers and politicians topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have announced that they will mark the day as Shaurya Diwas and Vijay Diwas (day of victory) and have asked the people to light earthen lamps as on Diwali.
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