Top India batsman Shikhar Dhawan saw it as a historic day of celebration, while former cricketer Mohammed Kaif reminded the country of its culture of peaceful coexistence as sportspersons reacted to the bhoomi pujan ceremony for a temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Chief Minister Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut said.
For relatives of many kar sevaks who were killed in the Sabarmati Express coach fire incident in Gujarat's Godhra in 2002, the 'bhoomi pujan' for a Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday brought a sense of closure to the pains of losing their near and dear ones for the cause of the temple.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday vehemently defended Home Minister Amit Shah against the Congress' accusation that he insulted B.R. Ambedkar in a Rajya Sabha speech. Modi asserted that Shah had actually exposed the Congress' "dark history of insulting" the architect of the Indian Constitution. The prime minister went on to detail a litany of actions by the Congress party that he claimed demonstrated their disrespect for Ambedkar, including denying him a Bharat Ratna and preventing his portrait from being displayed in Parliament's Central Hall. He also criticized the Congress for failing to address the plight of marginalized communities during their time in power. Modi highlighted the efforts of his government in implementing Ambedkar's vision and honoring his legacy.
VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.
Prior to the function, the prime minister will take part in 'pooja' and 'darshan' at Hanumangarhi, a statement by the PMO said on Tuesday.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashish Shelar attacked the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ahead of his upcoming visit to Maharashtra and sought an apology for his remarks on 'reservation ' and 'Veer Savarkar'.
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'
In Washington, VHP members took out a tableau truck on Tuesday with the digital image of Ram temple, and went around the Capitol Hill with chanting of slogans "Jai Shree Ram" and moving around the city later.
'What scares me is the fact that there is so much content that people have content indigestion.' 'How do you entice people who have indigestion of content?'
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the validity of land acquisition for the integrated development of the Yamuna Expressway and its adjoining areas in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
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Talking to reporters in Pune, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj also said all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. "The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours.
The state government decided to rename the area at Girgaum Chowpatty where Tilak was cremated, as 'Swaraj Bhoomi'.
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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.
Invitations are being extended to several people who have been part of this temple movement including BJP leaders L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Mishra said. Kameshwar Chaupal, another trustee of the temple, said top leaders of the RSS including its chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi are also being invited for the event along with VHP's working president Alok Kumar.
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The Congress maintained that the state government had not ordered any such inquiry and it could be an internal matter of the CID. A top CID official has also said that no formal inquiry was ordered into the incident.
'Today, if someone spits on us, we are ready to kill them, but these men, without raising a hand, led the country to freedom and that's easier said than done.;
Bhoomi's blood-splattering, bone-crunching vigour is as unwelcome as the rest of this ghastly movie, feels Sukanya Verma.
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.
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Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.
"It is the greatness of Ayodhya that the mosques surrounding the Ram temple are giving a strong message of communal harmony to the rest of the world," Haji Asad Ahmad, the corporator of the Ram Kot ward, told PTI.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
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'When I stepped down from the (United Nations) secretary general's race, the first visitor I had was a former minister of the Vajpayee government inviting me to the join the BJP.'
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.
'Money was pouring in after Movers & Shakers. At the turn of the millennium, I was voted one of the top 10 Mumbaikars. People joked that even when they switched off their TV sets, I was there! I would ask God if he was compensating me for the loss of Ayush, the greatest tragedy of my life.'
Clash of the two richest titans, a celebrity and a 'royal', is on the cards in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, known for electing erstwhile 'royals' maximum number of times.
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
The Congress has consciously contested on a lesser number of seats in this Lok Sabha election as part of a strategy to keep the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) together and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said.
Historically, the Mandi constituency has favoured scions of erstwhile princely states, electing royals in 13 out of 19 elections, including two bypolls since 1952.
'If the BJP does not change its stand, we will hope that those who are in favour of protecting Ladakh come to power.'
On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation finished the excavation work for the second and final undersea tunnel being built as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project from Swarajya Bhoomi (Girgaon Chowpatty) to Priyadarshini Park.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who released BJP's manifesto for the legislative assembly polls, said a committee would be constituted on UCC.
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