A day after his resignation was accepted by the Ram temple trust, its former general secretary Champat Rai on Tuesday said he would respond to all allegations of donation embezzlement after the SIT submits its final report, even as opposition parties alleged a "cover-up" and stepped up the demand for its dissolution.
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."
Making a statement in the lower house soon after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Modi said, "An autonomous trust has been formed, it is called 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra'." The Supreme Court had directed the government to form the trust within three months and the deadline was ending on February 9.
Mishra cited a shortage of around 200 workers and the need to replace certain stones on the temple's first floor as primary reasons for the delay.
'Earlier, people used to hand money directly to priests after a ritual, and priests would keep it in their own pockets. We completely stopped that practice.'
'SIT means nothing because the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh and Ram Janmabhoomi Trust are the same people.'
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the BJP, asserting that Ayodhya will be their "Lanka" due to alleged corruption in Ram Temple donations. He also linked the issue to the NEET controversy, suggesting a wider pattern of malfeasance and predicting internal strife within the ruling party.
By the end of 2023, the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed, Rai said.
Taking note of the expected rush for the ceremony, divisional commissioner Gaurav Dayal on Wednesday convened a meeting of hotel owners of Ayodhya in preparation and instructed them to decorate their hotels to give a warm welcome to their guests during the consecration ceremony.
A preliminary probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into alleged cash theft at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has revealed 'serious security lapses' and 'systematic' concealment of cash by staff, with around 70 suspicious incidents captured on CCTV.
The time capsule, enlisting the history and facts related to the Ram Janmabhoomi, will be placed thousands of feet below the construction site. It will be done in order to ensure that there are no disputes in the future. A grand Ram Temple will be built here and all arrangements are in place for Bhoomi Pujan.
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 outline for the construction of the Ramjanaki Path and the Bhakti Path is also ready, the statement issued in Lucknow said.
The construction of the three-storeyed Ram temple in Ayodhya will be completed by December this year, temple construction committee chairperson Nripendra Misra said on Thursday. The sprawling temple complex will also have other structures.
The construction of the temple is expected to be completed by December 2023 and Lord Ram is expected to be seated in the sanctum sanctorum by the Makar Sankranti festival in January 2024.
The construction of the Ram Temple complex in Ayodhya, including the main structure, is estimated to cost around Rs 1,100 crore and is expected to be completed in three-and-a-half years, said the treasurer of the trust overseeing the project on Monday.
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.
With Parliament's winter session is to begin on November 18, the Union home and law ministries want to complete the process of formation of the board of trustees in time, reports R Rajagopalan.
Amid the huge rush of devotees in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with officials in Lucknow to review the steps taken for crowd management and advised VIPs planning to visit the temple to inform the authorities in advance.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
Work on building a pilgrimage facilitation centre and other utilities in Ayodhya's Ram temple complex has started, with 'darshan' of Ram Lalla expected to open in December 2023, according to a senior official of the construction committee.
Ideology is dead; long live the numbers game that is being played with the sole intention of securing a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha for the NDA, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust reported that a five-foot shivalinga, seven black touchstone pillars, six red sandstone pillars, a 'flower pinnacle' and four broken idols of gods and goddesses were found.
Terming this occasion as special, CM Yogi said that liquor shops should be kept closed in the state on January 22.
A new idol of Ram Lalla sculpted by Mysuru-based Arun Yogiraj has been selected for installation at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, temple trust's general secretary Champat Rai said on Monday.
The trust members had earlier said they would be sending an official invite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the event.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that the date of Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya should be celebrated as "Pratishtha Dwadashi" as it marks the "true independence" of India, which faced "parachakra" (enemy attack) for several centuries. Bhagwat said that the Ram temple movement was not started to oppose anyone, but to awaken the "self" (swa) of Bharat so that the country could stand on its own feet and show the path to the world. He also said that the invaders destroyed temples of the country so that the "self" of India also perishes.
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.
'This is just the beginning. You have to wait and watch to see things getting better.'
'We would try our best that the temple structure becomes visible in the next two years.'
To me he always symbolised the sincere, confident, face of a Bharat whose rise is unstoppable. Ratan Tata was a Rishi who was unquestioningly trusted by people who never saw him and never met him, asserts Tarun Vijay, the former BJP MP.
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'
BJP's national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh on Monday held meetings with the top state leaders and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office-bearers here to review the party's programmes in the politically crucial state where assembly polls are due next year.
The bench took on record the statement of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for Tamil Nadu that there are no restrictions on 'puja archana' in temples or live telecast of consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
The government aims to better its last year's Guinness World Record by lighting 25 lakh diyas on the banks of Saryu river.
The Congress leader said he believes that democracy is derailed and "we are becoming too authoritarian". "It's all about one-man show," he said.
There was no report of devotees facing any inconvenience even as shops and eateries downed their shutters and vehicles remained off roads.
'Ayodhya will once again become Ram's city.'
'If the Ram Mandir is made, it is because of the collective strength of our country.'
