#Ayodhya: Ram temple construction starts from…

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE: PRAYAGRAJ:    After all the controversies around Ayodhya, on Wednesday, Religious leader Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati said that a ceremony to make the state of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya will take place on 21th February even if those gathering there have to ‘face bullets’.

The announcement was made the day after the centre filed a petition in the Supreme Court to grant permission to transfer ‘surplus’ land next to the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site to its original owners.

The planned ceremony is to called as ‘Ishtika Nyas’ also called as laying of bricks. The edict issued by the Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya after the ‘Dharma Sansad’ urged Hindus to reach Ayodhya carrying a brick.

The Shankaracharya also announced that on 10th February the sadhus will begin their march to Ayodhya from Prayagraj after Basant Panchami.

The Shankaracharya criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for not bringing legislation to enable the construction of the temple, even though it had an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.

It said the government demonstrated this greatest when a bill to offer reservation in government jobs and educational institutes for the economically weaker sections was passed in Parliament.

Building the temple is a key demand of rightwing groups and some allies of the ruling BJP and has gained fresh impetus ahead of a general election due by May.

The BJP said in its 2014 general election manifesto it would “explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution” to ease the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site.

The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, whose chief minister Yogi Adityanath is a saffron robe-wearing Hindu priest, has already organised a large eight-week Kumbh Mela gathering at Prayagraj city where millions visit for a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, the Yamuna, and a mythical third river, the Saraswati.

A mob of Hindu activists levelled the Babri Mosque in 1992, sparking communal riots that killed about 2,000 people across India. The site in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya has been the focus of a Hindu-Muslim dispute for many years.

Hindu groups believe the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram. They also point to evidence there was a temple there before the mosque was built in 1528.

The place where the Babri Mosque once stood is now under court control, guarded by armed state and federal police and surrounded by walls and watchtowers.