Asked about the BJP's claim that its performance in southern states will be exemplary, Tharoor said, "The claim of an 'exemplary' performance is yet another product of the BJP's propaganda mill."
PM Modi will arrive at 12.30 pm at the Ram Janmbhoomi and take part in various prayers including the main 'bhoomi pujan'. Govind Giriji Maharaj, treasurer of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that the religious ceremonies will begin from 8.30 am in the morning and will continue till 12.30 pm.
The trust said that the situation at the India-China border is "serious" and defending the country is "most important".
Although conventional political wisdom would decree that the construction of a 'magnificent' Ram temple at his 'birth-place' would bring the BJP a big yield of votes in the prospective elections, its leaders know by now that the mandir must not exist in isolation in its game plan, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
'Attending roza-iftar with a skull cap is not secularism. People also know that this is drama'
Clashes broke out between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party workers in Dadar area in Mumbai on Wednesday after the youth wing of the BJP took out a protest march against 'offensive' remarks in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana about the land deal controversy in Ayodhya.
The Ayodhya district administration has told news channels that litigants in the Ayodhya land dispute case should not be part of any discussions that they broadcast from the temple town during the 'Bhumi Pujan' for the Ram temple on August 5. In an advisory, it also said that if channels are broadcasting a debate or programme from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh during the ground-breaking ceremony, there should be no comments against any person or religion.
He took a swipe at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remark during a rally in MP on Monday that mobile phones in the people's pockets were "Made in China" and they should rather be "Made in Madhya Pradesh".
He further said that time has come to discuss the issue of Ram Temple and should try to find a permanent solution.
'They were as late as June 2023 and they did not follow it up with concrete measures immediately in terms of a secretariat or common minimum programme, working group or seat sharing etc.' 'They continued to have periodic meetings after a gap of weeks where they had tasty dinner and coffee, but beside that they did nothing else.'
'Lord Rama is still in the same shape as he was before the disputed structure fell...'
'Modi will not require the Ayodhya issue because he already has other emotive issues like Pakistan.' 'The BJP does not need the temple for political mobilisation anymore.'
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.
No confidence motions have been moved in the Lok Sabha 27 times in the past, and all of them have either been defeated or remained inconclusive, data compiled by a think tank shows.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has set its sights on winning an 'unprecedented majority' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking key organisational leaders to work towards boosting the party's vote share by 10 per cent, sources said.
He called it the party's attempt at trying to lock up those who worship Hanuman. He claimed that the Congress had earlier locked up Lord Rama and now it wanted to lock up those who chant 'Jai Bajrang Bali' (Hail Hanuman).
Thackeray, who assumed office on November 28, 2019, is visiting Ayodhya weeks after the Centre constituted a trust to oversee construction of a Ram temple at the once disputed site in the town.
A 5-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in its historic verdict delivered on a court holiday, held that the lawsuit of the deity was "within the period of limitation" and granted the title decree in its favour.
'BJP sarkaar 5 saal mein Ram Mandir bhi nahi bana paayi. Ab Ram Mandir nahi toh Modi nahi'
'If we get 399 seats and you say we have not crossed 400, then it is your wisdom. But the '400 paar' slogan is based on calculation and considered opinion'
But three years after the apex court settled the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, there are no signs of any building activity on the proposed mosque site.
'When the bombing happened in the Taj Mahal hotel in 2008, that was a very sad moment, but he really took care of the people, took care of everybody and that was when you saw some of his best moments.' 'There are some things which we will never forget. That is when the best of a person comes out.'
'Whether somebody else can take up (Narendra Modi's position) the answer to it is yes but for that (to happen) some kind of crisis must come and in that crisis Modi must lose the (trust) vote.' 'Only then another candidate from the BJP can come and most likely it could be Nitin Gadkari because he enjoys the confidence (of the RSS as well as that of BJP MPs).'
Kamal Nath held the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat as many as nine times and it continues to remain with the family as his son Nakul Nath is currently an MP from there.
A magnificent Krishna Janambhoomi temple in Mathura was a recurrent theme for the ruling BJP in the run-up to the assembly polls, reports Nitin Kumar.
The first bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday set aside an order of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE department, which appointed a 'fit' person (thakkar) to administer the Ayodhya Mandapam run by Sri Ram Samaj in West Mambalam in Chennai.
The mosque is coming up in the Uttar Pradesh district pursuant to the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi case.
Here are the key figures among the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case who were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow of all charges.
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.
VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.
The move bears significance in the wake of November 9 judgement of the Supreme Court which allowed construction of a Ram Temple in the disputed site in Ayodha.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Sunday visited the Akshardham temple here with his wife Akshata Murty and said it is not only a place of worship but also a landmark that portrays India's values.
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 provides for maintaining the 'religious character' of holy structures as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The push to develop Ayodhya as a tourism centre, accompanied by large-scale infrastructure projects, comes on the back of years of limited income growth and tourist inflows.
It will be heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
"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 accused include former deputy prime minister Advani, former Union ministers Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, besides Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
Justice Chandrachud also dealt with questions about criticism by eminent lawyers on the allocation of cases to particular judges and 'bench hunting', and said the allocation of cases is not "lawyer-driven" and vowed to maintain the credibility of the institution of the Supreme Court.
He also said that after the "historic verdict", the country has moved ahead on a new path, with a new resolve.
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