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.
The event will be marked by prayers to Lord Shiva at the Kuber Tila shrine on the Ram Janmabhoomi site, allocated for the temple in a historic Supreme Court verdict last November.
He also said that now everyone should listen to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's advice to shun habit of fighting on small disputes.
"Do you remember that 'kar sevaks' were shot in Ayodhya and bodies were thrown into the Saryu," he said referring to a 1990 incident during the SP regime while addressing a rally at Government Inter College in Faizabad.
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.
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.
With the Bhoomi Pujan scheduled to be on August 5 and the who's who of Indian politics likely to make a visit in Ayodhya, the district administration has deployed hundreds of people for a beautification drive in the temple town. Roads, walls, streets are being painted, cleaned to give them a new refreshing look. Thousands of municipal workers have been deployed to do a cleanup drive in the town which will see visits of dignitaries on August 5. Take a look.
By the end of 2023, the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed, Rai said.
"There was no water leakage but the rainwater came down from the pipes fixed to install electric wires," Mishra said.
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.
Bharti would visit the site after the official ceremony.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and party leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have received invitations for the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22.
The latest petitions have been filed by Akhil Bhartiya Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Samiti and one Farooq Ahmed challenging the high court judgement, which the apex court had dubbed as "strange" as none of the parties had demanded partition of the land.
The bricks were sent by devotees of Lord Ram from around the world in 1989. There are 2,75,000 such bricks, out of which 100 bricks with 'Jai Shri Ram' engraving have been taken.
Around five lakh devotees visited the Ram temple complex on day one as it opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, a day after the consecration ceremony, according to officials.
This visit by the prime minister comes weeks ahead of the 'pran pratishtha' or consecration ceremony of the Ram temple.
"For us Ram temple is a matter of faith and not politics," Thackeray said.
The senior advocate had on Tuesday told the court that the birth place of Lord Ram is also a deity and Muslims cannot claim right over the 2.77-acre disputed land in Ayodhya as any division of the property would amount to "destruction" and "mutilation" of the deity itself.
The Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, which has been set up for the construction of the mosque, will build a mosque along with a hospital, library, community kitchen and research institute, on the land.
Terming this occasion as special, CM Yogi said that liquor shops should be kept closed in the state on January 22.
The source said decorative lights used for outer illumination are themed on diya, so as to give a traditional look and highlight the ornate elements of the temple.
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.
As a festive spirit prevailed in Ayodhya, there was an emotional outpouring among residents of the holy city as the consecration of the new idol of Ram Lalla was held on Monday and said they indeed feel they are living in a divya (divine) Ayodhya, navya (new) Ayodhya and bhavya (grand) Ayodhya.
The prime minister will also visit the Hanuman Garhi temple and the buildings on roads leading to it too are being spruced up.
Advani and Dr Joshi might not attend the consecration ceremony due to health and age-related reasons. Advani is 96 and Dr Joshi will turn 90 next month.
Unlike in the past, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is not celebrating any "Shaurya Diwas" (Bravery Day) on Tuesday and there are no plans by the Muslim community to observe a "Black Day".
"While this is not a surprising stance from a nation that practices cross border terrorism and denies its own minorities their religious rights, such comments are nevertheless deeply regrettable," said MEA spokesperson.
Construction work on the Ram temple in Ayodhya is going on in full swing and a part of construction is likely to be completed by October this year, said general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Champat Rai on Monday.
As Ayodhya gears up for the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple next month, a set of imposing sun-themed pillars -- 'Surya Stambhs' -- are being installed along a prominent road of the temple town.
Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the spokesperson of Trust's president Nritya Gopal Das said, "We have suggested two auspicious dates -- August 3 and 5 -- for the prime minister's visit based on calculations of movements of stars and planets."
A war of words has erupted in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh after the Congress objected to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party putting up hoardings taking credit for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The court then asked Prasaran if question of this nature about birth of a religious figure has ever arisen in any court.
'Are we expected to merely sit outside and applaud when the prime minister installs the idol of Ram Lalla?
According to trust sources, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat , Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar are also on the list of invitees.
Dropping references to the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the killing of Muslims in Gujarat riots and Hindutva, and tweaking the reference to Manipur's merger with India are among the latest set of revisions made public by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in its textbooks.
Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi also said that from the day of the event, he has been getting abuse and 'threats on phone calls' from a section of people.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple trust at its first meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
A new landmark of India -- both structural and spiritual -- rises on Ayodhya's horizon on Monday as a new-age architectural marvel of elegant sandstones, diligently carved by craftspeople with dedication and devotion to Lord Ram.
According to the trust's general secretary, Champat Rai, a retaining wall be built below the ground to prevent damage to the foundation of the temple due to flow of the Saryu water.
The meeting came a day after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up recently to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, met for the first time on Wednesday.
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