The Shivling is 33 feet in height and weighs 210 tonnes.
The trigger for the stone pelting incident was not yet known, he said, adding further details were awaited.
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.
In the last 11 days, about Rs 8 crore rupees were deposited in the donation boxes, while the amount received through cheque and online is around Rs 3.50 crore.
Despite the Ram Mandir issue failing to cut much ice with voters, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to building the temple at Ayodhya.
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.
Talking about the donation received by VHP from President Kovind, Alok Kumar said, "He is the first citizen of the country. So we went to him to initiate this drive and he met us with his family and donated a sum of Rs 5,00,100 and gave his good wishes for the success of the mission."
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.
Gandhi's remarks at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Nagaland's Chiephobozoucame days after the Congress top brass declined the invitation to the event at the Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
Many people have received fake messages related to VIP invitations, donation drives and prasaad of the mega event.
The event brings to fruition the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.
Indians across the country welcomed the New Year 2026 with celebrations, religious observances, and gatherings at tourist spots. The President, Vice President, and Prime Minister extended greetings for peace and prosperity.
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 prime minister will also visit the Hanuman Garhi temple and the buildings on roads leading to it too are being spruced up.
The land purchased by the trust is located next to the Asharfi Bhawan.
'For ages Lord Ram's character had served as a source of unity for the entire Indian sub continent.
The speculation on whether Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Sonia Gandhi will attend the Ram temple consecration ceremony continued with the party on Thursday saying that their decision would be conveyed at the 'right time'.
Amid protests outside the Delhi University, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy went ahead with a seminar on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya where he asserted that nothing will be done forcibly or against the law.
The entire temple complex will, however, be ready by 2025.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra secretary Champat Rai said people from all communities have generously donated for the construction of the temple.
'I speak after asking Ram Lalla. I spoke with Ram Lalla's inspiration'
The Rajya Sabha MP said for electoral success 'it is essential that the ideology of Hindutva is never lost sight of'.
The deity and two others idols will be shifted to a temporary structure nearby till the planned construction of a Ram temple is completed on the site, allotted for it by the Supreme Court in a landmark verdict in November. The special prayers began amid restrictions forced upon the organisers by the coronavirus threat.
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
The third phase of the construction of the Ram temple began at Ramjanmabhoomi in Ayodhya on January 24 with the laying of the granite stones for the plinth.
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
The construction work of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya is underway in full swing and the second phase of its foundation work would be ready by January end, officials have said.
RSS leader Sunil Ambekar says history textbooks have been revised, with titles like 'the great' removed from historical figures like Akbar and Tipu Sultan. He highlights the importance of India's ancient knowledge and the need to understand its history.
Virtually endorsing Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Amit Shah's statement on construction of RamTemple at Ayodha, party president Rajnath Singh on Saturday said all Hindus want it to come up there.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday confirmed reports of an invitation to Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi for the Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, adding that she was 'very positive on this matter'.
Chief Minister Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut said.
Speaking to reporters, VHP national general secretary Milind Parande also said the construction of the temple will take a little time but the 'garbhagriha' (sanctum sanctorum) will be in place by December 2023 with starting of puja ritual and darshan for devotees.
In the late 1990s, the construction cost of the Ram temple, according to unofficial estimates, was pegged at Rs 120 crore. Adjusting for inflation to the current financial year, the edifice would entail an investment of nearly Rs 450 crore, excluding the land cost.
The Rajasthan government will soon begin an online auction of a special pink sandstone variety, much sought after by builders including those constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, found in the Bansi Paharpur area of Bharatpur.
Nath said the silver bricks were bought from contributions made by members of the Congress. "We will send 11 silver bricks for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya on the behalf of citizens of Madhya Pradesh," the former chief minister told reporters.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
Narayan said that Sri Ram temple should be built using 19 acres of space which belong to the Department of Muzrai at Ramadevarabetta.
The future of India will be shaped and decided by the choices the RSS makes now, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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