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 BJP has been talking about Ram Rajya for years now. I have asked many a right winger what that means, but they cannot say beyond good government, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
Reacting to the grand old Congress party's decline to the 'pran-pratishtha' ceremony invitations of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Digvijaya said that the ruling party had turned the event into a BJP and VHP event.
Nothing would please our adversaries if the court verdict sees triumphalism on the part of the majority and sullen anger of the minority, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
With the recent arrest of two Bharatiya Janata Party activists who had taken part in the Ayodhya agitation back in 1992 snowballing into a controversy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said a criminal is always a criminal unless acquitted by a court of law.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
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.
Swami Giri said the trust has so far collected more than Rs 3200 crore in donations from individuals and organizations within the country.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday claimed a "Godhra-like" incident may take place during the "return journey" of the large number of people expected to converge at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh from across the nation for the inauguration of the Ram temple.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has too decided against observing the 27th anniversary of the demolition as "Shaurya Diwas".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that the Congress and Samajwadi Party will run a bulldozer over the Ram temple if elected to power, and asked them to take 'tuition' from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath 'where to run bulldozers'.
People are finding unique ways to commemorate the consecration of Ram Mandir.
'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'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attacked the Congress over party president Mallikarjun Kharge's recent remark on Lord Ram and Lord Shiva, and accused the opposition party of trying to divide Hindus for its appeasement politics.
Modi underlined his commitment to taking strict action against the corrupt amid criticism by opposition parties that probe agencies were used by his government to target their leaders.
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."
The expectant mother and their family members have made the requests to the doctors even if their delivery dates are a few days before or after January 22, considering it an 'auspicious' day.
"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).
The agency officials said they are studying the judgment and an appeal would soon be filed in the Supreme Court.
Claiming that the BJP's government's works in the three holy cities are only follow-ups of her government's initiatives, Mayawati went on to promise, in what is being seen as a subtle shift towards soft Hindutva ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, to complete all those work on time.
Mani Shankar Aiyar says the Congress party and not then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for unlocking the Babri Masjid gates and claimed that the "Bharatiya Janata Party-planted" Arun Nehru was behind it.
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.
The rulers of the day need to be sensitive and involved in managing the identities of sacred spaces and the ongoing dialogues about the past in diverse societies, suggests Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd).
Modhwadia emphasised that he was not joining the BJP due to any coercion or allurement as claimed by the Congress.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been receiving invitations for functions scheduled much after the Lok Sabha polls, which showed the 'entire world believes his return to power is inevitable'.
'What should surprise BJP supporters is Modi's call for 'stability' at the manifesto launch, a theme that he and his team members had not touched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019.' 'The last time the party called for 'stability at the Centre' was in 1998 and 1999,' recalls N Sathiya Moorthy.
'This is about reviving this country as a centre of Hindutva at 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'
'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.'
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to 7,000 people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the consecration.
A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok.
'Just because the NDA has a majority and the BJP is the single largest party does not mean that this Modi government enjoys a majority in the Lok Sabha.' 'It is always possible that some members (of the NDA and even the BJP) may defect, some members may not want him to be the prime minister and they might vote differently (against Modi) in the confidence vote.'
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.
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.
Saisuresh Sivaswamy/Rediff.com decodes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech after the Pran Prathistha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodha.
Taking a dig at Pakistan without naming it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said a country which was a supplier of aatank (terror) is struggling for aata (flour) these days.
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.
Addressing a gathering of around 6,000 in-charges of 'Shakti Kendras,' each comprising two to three booth-level areas, at Marine Drive, the prime minister said that Kerala has the potential to influence who will be in power in Delhi.
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.
The trust members had earlier said they would be sending an official invite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the event.
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