Ram Temple: General secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai on Friday said its construction will be completed "on time" and that the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed on January 14, 2024.
His statements came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will be ready by January 1 next year.
"As per the plan, the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti (January 14) in 2024," said Rai. He further added that the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed.
"We have set December 2023 as the deadline for construction of the temple and January 2024 to open it for devotees," Rai remarked.
Shah publically announced date of temple's opening
Earlier on Thursday, January 5, Shah announced that the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be ready on January 1, 2024, while taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi's 'taareekh nahi bataenge' remark during the 2019 poll campaign.
Addressing a rally in South Tripura, Amit Shah said, "Rahul baba, listen from Sabroom that a mammoth Ram Mandir will be ready on January 1, 2024." Notably, this is the first time that a date for the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has been announced publicly by Shah.
It should be mentioned here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the 'Bhoomi Puja' for the construction of the temple on August 5, 2020. During his visit to Ayodhya on October 23, 2022, after offering prayers to Ram Lalla at the makeshift temple, he had also reviewed the progress of the construction work.
(With PTI inputs)
