PM Modi to visit Ayodhya on August 5 for 'bhoomi pujan'; LK Advani, BJP old guard also invited
Lord Ram's birth place Ayodhya is being decked for the historic Ram Mandir ground- breaking ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and veteran BJP leader LK Advani will attend the bhoomi pujan ceremony to be held on August 5. A member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust on Wednesday confirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. Over 200 people will attend the "bhoomi pujan" ceremony with complete social distancing guidelines in place.
Talking to reporters here, Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj said that all chief ministers must be invited for the ceremony. The PM has agreed to come to Ayodhya on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram temple. He will be there for one-and-a-half hours. He will first pay a visit to Hanuman Gadhi, then take darshan of Ram Lalla before taking part in the 'bhoomi poojan'ceremony," Swami Govind Devgiri Maharaj, also known as Kishorji Vyas, said.
"Modiji had sought two dates. So his office was informed about two dates- July 29 and August 5. Finally he gave consent to August 5," he added.
In view of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be only 200 people at the August 5 ceremony at Ayodhya, Kishorji Vyas said.
However, there has been no official confirmation from the PMO so far that Modi would be attending the ceremony. Swami Devgiri Maharaj said that while the PM performs the ceremony, the people of the country will celebrate the moment by staying indoors.
According to Trust president Nritya Gopal Das, the "bhoomi pujan" will be performed with the placing of a 40-kg silver brick at the sanctum sanctorum.
Three-day-long Vedic rituals, beginning August 3, will precede the main ceremony.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aadityanath will also join the "bhoomi pujan" ceremony.
"I cannot tell the exact date but we have got information that the PM's visit has been tentatively scheduled for August 5," said Triloki Nath Pandey, the decree holder of the Ram Janmabhoomi mandated by the Supreme Court.
After a protracted legal tussle, the Supreme Court had on November 9 last year paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple by a Trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.
Talking to PTI, Trust member Anil Mishra said, "An invitation has been sent to PM Modi. However, we still have not received the exact date of PM's arrival."
Before the "bhoomi pujan" ceremony, Vedic rituals will be performed by sages from Varanasi as was done during the shifting of the idol of Ram Lalla from the sanctum sanctorum to a temporary structure, said Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the spokesperson of Trust president Nritya Gopal Das.
Priests in Ayodhya have prepared an elaborate plan for the three-day event.
The decision about the tentative date was taken at a meeting of the Trust members held in Ayodhya on Saturday.
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LK Advani and other Ram Janmabhoomi agitation leaders to be invited
Former deputy prime minister L K Advani and other leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation will be invited to the “bhumi pujan” for the construction of the Ayodhya temple, a Ram Mandir trust member said. Kameshwar Chaupal, a member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, a trust set up by the Centre to oversee the construction of the temple, said they will invite former deputy PM L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar.
The trust has kept it in mind that former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani, along with other leaders, took the Ram Mandir movement to the masses, Chaupal said, adding that the list of invitees is being finalised.
Ram Mandir trust spokesperson Nritya Gopal Das said five silver bricks will be placed inside the sanctum sanctorum during the ceremony.
The bricks are believed to symbolise five planets as per the Hindu mythology, he said, adding that the design and the architecture of the temple is the same as the one proposed.
According to trust sources, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat , Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar are also on the list of invitees.
Will Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray be invited?
Asked if Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will be invited to the ground-breaking ceremony, the seer said, "He must be invited.
"There is no question of not inviting CM Thackeray. He must be invited. I think there is no point in not inviting anybody.
We must invite all the CMs, notable saints and social leaders," he added.
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