The Congress party in India has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being "anti-Dalit" after a BJP leader sprinkled Ganga water at a Ram temple in Rajasthan to "purify" it following the visit of a Dalit Congress leader. The incident has sparked outrage among the Congress, with party leaders calling it an insult to Dalits and a reflection of the BJP's alleged casteist ideology.
This time, Ranveer Singh's OTT gesture broke the internet.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has been sent an invitation by speed post for the Ram temple consecration ceremony to be held in Ayodhya on Monday.
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 beam of sunlight fell directly on Ram Lalla's idol at the new temple in Ayodhya on noon Wednesday, marking the 'Surya Tilak' of the idol on the first Ram Navami since its consecration.
The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, was passed unanimously as besides the BJP MLAs, members of the Opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party extended their support to it.
Veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he does not need an invitation from anyone to visit the newly-constructed temple in Ayodhya as Lord Ram resides in his heart.
The first image of the new idol placed inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple with eyes covered with a cloth had surfaced on social media late Thursday night.
The old idol of Ram Lalla, kept in a makeshift shrine, will be placed in front of the new idol which will be consecrated at the temple in Ayodhya on January 22, said Govind Dev Giri, the treasurer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai said that the decision was taken in the recently held meeting of the members.
People in large numbers participated in the India Day Parade held in New York, United States.
30,000 volunteers lit 2.5 million diyas in Ayodhya.
At 70 feet, Hyderabad's Khairatabad Ganesha is one of the tallest Lord Ganesha installations this year.
RSS leader whipped up a political storm for stating that the BJP was restricted to 240 seats, well below the majority mark, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, due to its "arrogance".
He said God has chosen him as an instrument to represent all Indians during the 'Pran Pratishtha' exercise and that he is undertaking the special religious exercise keeping this in mind.
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Modi's remarks came in response to President Droupadi Murmu's two-page letter to him ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' at the Ram temple.
Madhav said Gandhiji had suggested launching another movement (to attain social, economic and moral freedom) and keep it out of the purview of politics, and therefore, Congress had to quit as a political party.
Shubham Dwivedi, a 31-year-old businessman from Kanpur who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, was cremated at his native village with full state honours on Thursday morning. The cremation was attended by Uttar Pradesh Cabinet ministers Yogendra Upadhyay and Rakesh Sachan, who placed wreaths on Dwivedi's mortal remains and offered their condolences to the bereaved family. A guard of honour was also presented to the departed soul. Dwivedi, who got married to Ashanya on February 12, was among the 26 persons, mostly tourists, who were killed on Tuesday at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam in Anantnag district in one of the most gruesome attacks targeting civilians in Kashmir in a long time.
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.
While main events throughout the country were organised on Sunday by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, several community members gathered at the iconic Times Square in New York to celebrate the historic event.
Led by Muslim Rashtriya Manch, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Muslim organisation, the group started their journey from Lucknow on January 25, Shahid Saeed, media in-charge of MRM, said on Wednesday.
Terming this occasion as special, CM Yogi said that liquor shops should be kept closed in the state on January 22.
Eleven people died during a havan at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore after they fell into a well as its cover caved-in under the weight of a huge crowd, while three others got fatally electrocuted during a Ram Navami procession in Rajasthan's Kota.
In addition to these temple models, metallic rings, lockets and other cloth items bearing Lord Ram's name are flying off the shelves in Ayodhya, according to shopkeepers.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said he is "more than happy" to take responsibility for everything wrong the party did in its history, including the 1984 Sikh riots. He acknowledged that the party made "a lot of mistakes" when he was not there, but said he has publicly stated that what happened in the 80s was "wrong." The remarks were made during an interaction at Brown University in the US. The video of the interaction was uploaded on the YouTube channel of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs on Saturday. The BJP has criticized Gandhi for his remarks, accusing him of "ridiculing" the beliefs of Hindus and Sikhs.
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
More than 3,000 gifts for Lord Ram from Sita's birthplace in Janakpur in Nepal have arrived in Ayodhya.
'For ages Lord Ram's character had served as a source of unity for the entire Indian sub continent.
Family members alleged that it was a communal incident because the attackers were from another community, however, police denied that the dispute was on religious grounds.
Participating in the eighth edition of Deepotsav in Ayodhya - the first since the consecration of Ram temple on January 22, Adityanath said, "This is a historic first as after 500 years, Lord Ram is now in his abode in Ayodhya for Diwali."
The weavers have received customised orders for various patterns on the sarees, including Ram Mandir motifs on the pallu, designs detailing life of Lord Ram right from his childhood to killing Ravana, and 'Shree Ram' inscriptions on the border.
Besides, various representatives of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and their allies are also aiding in hand-delivering the invitations.
Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after offering prayers at the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has ridiculed the move as 'hypocrisy' saying Congress leaders had termed Lord Ram as an imaginary character.
There was much speculation on a likely meeting between Bhagwat and Adityanath, especially in the backdrop of the BJP's recent electoral reverses in Uttar Pradesh.
The tableau also depicts the first-ever operational high-speed regional rapid transit system (RRTS) of the country. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the priority section of its first corridor in October.
A man playing Lord Hanuman in a 'Ramlila' fell down at the feet of the person portraying Lord Ram for a bit longer, the audience clapped and it seemed a scene well enacted, except that it turned out to be the last performance of the 62-year-old.
The devotion to the deity is such that even commerce is not untouched by the spiritual feel in the holy city. Images of the grand temple is finding places even on visiting cards, posters, calendars and even signages.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that forcibly seizing someone's faith and trampling over their beliefs is "unacceptable," especially "when we know the truth about Sambhal" which predates Islam, with the Vishnu temple there being destroyed in 1526. He said that Sambhal has been mentioned in scriptures that are 5,000 years old, which contain references to Lord Vishnu's future incarnation. He also mentioned that a temple of Lord Vishnu in Sambhal was demolished in 1526, and two years later, in 1528, the Ram temple in Ayodhya was destroyed, both acts carried out by the same person.
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