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.
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.
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.
'I speak after asking Ram Lalla. I spoke with Ram Lalla's inspiration'
Modi's presence at the evnt would open wounds, the Hyderabad MP said.
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.
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.
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.
Bihar MP Rajesh Ranjan, also known as Pappu Yadav, has faced criticism for his controversial remarks regarding women's reservation in Parliament, with his comments sparking outrage and prompting a notice from the Bihar Women's Commission.
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'.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.'
'If the Sangh Parivar is actually interested in constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya why doesn't it do so on the land owned by the VHP?'
The Ram temple at Ayodhya is a symbol of Sena's sacrifice for Hindutva and the party would fulfil the promise of constructing it fully, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said."The Ram temple is a symbol of Sena's sacrifice for Hindutva," an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana said on Thursday. Thackeray is the newspaper's editor.
Swamy has contended that the pendency of the appeals in the SC has restricted his fundamental right to worship and enjoy dignity of life.
Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao had done a lot of groundwork for constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya but he could not carry his mission forward as the Congress lost power in the 1996 general elections, claims a new book by one of his close confidants.
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.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami criticised the Trinamool Congress' governance in West Bengal, citing issues such as increased infiltration, corruption, and atrocities against women during a rally in Hingalganj.
'Good sense will prevail even on those who are opposing it and together we will fulfil Paramhans's dream,'
Advani has said that there can be no rest for him until that is done.
The construction committee of the temple, chaired by former principal secretary to the prime minister Nripendra Misra held deliberations over the matter in New Delhi on Tuesday, they said.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday said that construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is on its agenda.
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'.
Narayan said that Sri Ram temple should be built using 19 acres of space which belong to the Department of Muzrai at Ramadevarabetta.
Two or three senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including former party president Venkaiah Naidu, had sabotaged serious efforts to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya during the last days of National Democratic Alliance regime.
Beginning his speech with 'Jai Siya Ram', the prime minister told the gathering that a grand temple will now be built for 'Ram Lalla', the infant Ram, who had been living in a temporary tent for years.
From a Vishaw Hindu Parishad platform, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Rajnath Singh on Wednesday raked up the Ayodhya issue saying his party is committed to the construction of the Ram temple.
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved the expansion of the proposed temple museum in Ayodhya, contracting Tata Sons to develop and operate the project on a 52-acre site.
"Bring an ordinance on Ram temple and fulfil at least one promise made to Hindus," said the party.
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.
Thackeray recalled former prime minister Vajpayee as saying, Ab Hindu maat nahi khayega (Hindus will not be defeated now), and added, "Hindus will not sit silent."
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said it was never decided that the grand temple will be constructed through public donations, and political campaigning in the name of Lord Ram has to be stopped at some point of time.
Clashes were reported from Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, Narayanpur in North 24 Parganas, and Alipurduar town in north Bengal, among others.