Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
As devotees pour into Ayodhya, the buzz is Ram temple construction will begin soon

As devotees pour into Ayodhya, the buzz is Ram temple construction will begin soon

As devotees pour into Ayodhya, the buzz is Ram temple construction will begin soonBy Mohit Dubey,

Ayodhya : It is a rainbow of hope and faith outside the sprawling 67 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi (RJB) in the temple town of Ayodhya as hundreds of people from different parts of India queued up for a darshan of ‘Ram Lalla’ on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

Under the vigilant eyes of gun-toting security personnel from the UP Police and the paramilitary forces, including an all-women’s unit, people in bright turbans, women young and old with veils covering their faces, others with their foreheads smeared with vermillion, walked up the pathway leading to the makeshift temple.

The serpentine iron-grilled corridors fenced by barbed wire were choked with devotees finding their way from one side to the other of the 3-km stretch for ‘darshan’ of ‘Ram Lalla’ installed under a tent since December 6, 1992 when thousands of ‘kar sevaks’ razed the 16-the century Babri mosque.

Bhishmasen Bassoi from Naurangpur in Odisha waited anxiously for his turn. He said in broken Hindi that there was no way that construction of the temple could now be delayed.

The 62-year-old said he was sure that the next time he was in Ayodhya, work would have started on the grand Ram temple and that he would live to see its completion.

Kanhaiyya Lal Sharma, who runs a ‘locker room’ for the devotees to keep their wallets, phones and other items barred from the premises, said the footfall “of late has increased considerably”. While the 28-year-old partly credits this to the ongoing Kumbh in Prayagraj, he says the “recent buzz around the Ram temple construction” has also created interest among the people.

Sixty-five-year-old Mast Ram from Barwa Tola locality of Ayodhya was selling guavas outside the ‘isolated zone’ of the RJB and his eyes brimmed with confidence at the mention of a Ram temple.

“Ram Mandir to banbaiy kari,” he said in Avadhi dialect, adding that his hopes are pinned on the “recent developments” narrated to him by his college-going grandson.

With the Centre moving an application in the Supreme Court for handing over the 67 acre acquired land minus the disputed 2.22 acre, the locals and the visitors are certainly pepped up with the prospect of an early solution to the long-simmering imbroglio.

Sporting a burly moustache, Nawal Das from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh was certain that this time round “Mantri ji will settle the issue”. Prodded to tell more, he coyly refused to answer and melted into the bustling crowd.

Yagnesh, a priest from Vadodara, who was part of a 12-member contingent from the Gujarat, said that though he has been to Ayodhya thrice in the past, this time was “different”. “I am sure the prospects of a grand Ram temple are brighter than ever”.

Hemant Mishra, a local who is a regular to the ‘Ram Kachehri’ temple near the RJB, threw up his hands in despair at the “politics being played on the sensitive matter”. Pointing at the heavy security around and the tall fences, he said this was a “sad situation” that “broke his heart”.

Chinta Devi, a village woman from Nalanda, was equally sad at the fact that “Ram Lalla has fallen on bad times (is durdasha)”. She, like many other pilgrims coming to Ayodhya, hope that “Ram Mandir ka Nirman sheeghra hoga” (the temple construction will be soon).

(Mohit Dubey can be reached at mohit.d@ians.in)

—IANS

Will bring Private Member Bill for Ram temple construction: Tiwari

Will bring Private Member Bill for Ram temple construction: Tiwari

Manoj Tiwari on Ram temple construction; Will bring Private Member Bill for Ram temple constructionNew Delhi : BJP MP Manoj Tiwari on Tuesday said that he would bring a Private Member Bill in Parliament for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Tiwari made the statement after a delegation of over 25 Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders led by Bachan Singh met him at his residence here and gave him a memorandum for the temple construction.

“I just received a memorandum from the VHP delegation. And I want to assure them that I will raise the issue in Parliament and in my party,” Tiwari told the media here.

Asked if he would bring a Private Member Bill , he replied, “If required I will be the first person to bring a Private Member Bill in Parliament for the construction of the Ram temple.”

The MP said that he was shocked to learn that the matter of Ram temple has been pending for over 490 years, since 1528.

“The matter of Ram temple has been pending in court since 1950. And as the court is extending the matter and delaying the construction, we have submitted our memorandum to Tiwariji to raise the issue in Parliament,” Singh said.

—IANS

Ram temple construction to begin before polls: Amit Shah

Ram temple construction to begin before polls: Amit Shah

Ram temple construction to begin before polls, Amit ShahHyderabad : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Friday said that construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya will begin before the 2019 elections.

Shah told a meeting of party leaders here that steps will be taken to clear the decks for launching construction of the temple before the polls.

BJP National Executive member Perala Sekharjee briefed the media about the meeting at BJP’s Telangana state unit office.

“Considering the developments, I believe that construction of Ram temple will begin before the coming general elections,” Sekharjee quoted Shah as saying.

The BJP chief, who arrived on a day-long visit to Hyderabad on Friday, also told the meeting that the elections will not be advanced.

Shah told his party colleagues to prepare strategies to bring the party to power in the state.

—IANS