'I am more concerned about my future, my family's future. The fate of the Ram temple is neither going to affect my career, nor would I let it be affected'
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has too decided against observing the 27th anniversary of the demolition as "Shaurya Diwas".
'They are from the north, east, west, south and northeast part of India. They will be the 'mukhya yajmaan' (main hosts)'
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com captures glimpses of the activity around the Ram temple on his iPhone 14 Pro.
The BJP's year has been marked by a remarkable ability to adapt its message and methods, rebounding from Lok Sabha election setbacks with improbable wins in Haryana and Maharashtra. The party's campaign machine, drawing on the strength of the RSS and its affiliates, has demonstrated a capacity to shift focus and respond to regional dynamics. While the BJP faces challenges, its adaptability and Modi's unchallenged leadership suggest a continued strong presence on the Indian political landscape.
As BJP leaders went all out to project the event as a moment of national pride, some leaders were directly critical of the ceremony with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Marxist, slamming the state's role in the Ram Temple consecration, saying the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be 'getting thinner and thinner'.
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.
Many people have received fake messages related to VIP invitations, donation drives and prasaad of the mega event.
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.
Later, Pratibha Singh said she and her son Vikramaditya Singh have received a joint invitation and she is yet to take a call on attending the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya on January 22.
The BJP enters challenging times where it has been given a task to hold onto the values of Ram in running the country as defined by Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, notes Sheela Bhatt.
There were also posts on social media claiming that some Indians are cancelling their scheduled trip to the Maldives in view of the row.
The construction of the Ram temple structure in Ayodhya will be done using Pink stone sourced from Rajasthan, and the temple campus will include a museum, research centre, 'gaushala' and a 'yagya shala', sources in the temple trust said on Thursday.
The ancient Shiv Mandir is located at Bisrakh village, believed to be the birthplace of Ravana, the antagonist to the hero of Lord Ram in the epic Ramayana.
A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok.
Within minutes of Gohil's announcement of the Congress' action, Der called a press conference at his residence, saying he was not aware when he was suspended by the party and announced he will join the BJP at its state headquarters 'Kamalam' in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, who turned down the invitation to the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, on Monday said Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray is a victim of betrayal.
Indian politics, held captive in one way or the other by Ayodhya, may now well seek its emancipation from this issue, and the pursuit of welfare, asserts Congress leader Salman Khurshid in this excerpt from his latest book, Sunrise over Ayodhya.
'The common Muslim of this country is not in favour of a review petition because he or she does not want that matters which have been settled are again raised and the community gets caught up in such things'
An Indian Air Force plane will bring the bodies of the Maharashtra pilgrims killed in a bus accident in Nepal to Nashik on Saturday, officials have said.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features just a few hundred people, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, bureaucrats and diplomats.
'Whether Lord Ram is a historical person is not the subject before the court.' 'The court was asking every time if can anyone show the exact birthplace of Lord Ram on the basis of documents.' 'I have shown that on the basis of documents. And these documents are not (based) on my beliefs.'
Tired of living under the restive shadow of communalism, Ayodhya residents, be it Vijay Singh or Mohammad Azim, do not want any fresh political trigger for communal disharmony.
'Everyone is so excited. There is a lot of excitement everywhere. This was a long time desire of many people.'
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.
"The Trust chose January 26, 2021 for laying the foundation stone of the Ayodhya mosque as on this day our Constitution came into effect over seven decades ago. Our Constitution is based on pluralism, which is the leitmotif of our mosque project," said Athar Hussain, secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF).
'People want to do business in the name of the Kedarnath temple.'
Citing a Tamil daily's reportage, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday alleged that the Tamil Nadu government administered temples have barred puja for Lord Ram on the day of the consecration of the grand temple in Ayodhya, which was dismissed by the state as a false news with ulterior motives.
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, however, had no qualms about overturning the judgements of father Y V Chandrachud on hot- button issues like adultery and the right to privacy.
'This is about reviving this country as a centre of Hindutva at Ayodhya.'
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said a wad of currency notes was recovered by security staff from the seat allotted to Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Since the historic judgment of the apex court that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town, a large number of devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya, several among them making their maiden visit to the city.
Taking to Twitter, Singh said, "My house has been attacked. Listen carefully BJP supporters, no matter how much hooliganism you indulge in, I will not allow the funds collected for constructing the Ram temple to be stolen even if I am killed."
Action has been taken against 8,275 posts including 4,563 posts on Sunday, it said, adding these had been posted on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the passengers onboard the bus that fell 150 metres into a river in central Nepal were from Jalgaon district in the state as per preliminary information, and efforts are on to bring them back.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
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.
BJP sources suggest that the upcoming elections will likely revolve around the renewed enthusiasm for the temple unless another theme with religious and nationalist undertones emerges.
'Just this year alone, close to 40 major transactions involving Bollywood stars have been recorded.'
Several states declared a holiday for schools, while government offices, other establishments and public sector banks remained closed for half a day.
