Welfare Party of India president Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas has slammed the PM for attending the foundation laying event. He called it “unconstitutional” and “unbecoming of the stature of Prime Minister of India”.
Pramod Chunchuwar | India Tomorrow
AYODHYA/NEW DELHI, AUGUST 4—Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya at around noon on Wednesday, amid criticism from various quarters.
Several political leaders and rights activists have said that Modi occupying the high constitutional post should abstain himself from the construction of a temple which saw decades of legal battle from the lower court to the highest court of the land. The verdict in favour of the temple came in November 2019. The Supreme Court that heard the title suit of the dispute, allotted the land, where once the Babri Masjid stood, to the temple and directed the UP state government to allot five acres of land at a different place within the territory of Ayodhya for construction of Babri Masjid.
Welfare Party Slams Modi
Welfare Party of India president Dr. Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas has slammed the PM for attending the foundation laying event. He called it “unconstitutional” and “unbecoming of the stature of Prime Minister of India”.
“India is a secular country and the constitution gives liberty to all its citizens to profess and practice their religion. But the state has no religion of itself abd being its Prime Minister, he should remain neutral towards all religions”, said Dr. Ilyas in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said, “It is highly unfortunate that under Modi’s regime, the great traditions of secular India is being dismantled at Ayodhya and thereby, laying the foundation of a new republic. If BJP is guilty of dismantling the republic, all other political parties are sadly silent approvers”.
Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati who played a leading role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as also Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will be conspicuous by their absence at the foundation laying ceremony.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram Mandir at around 12.40 pm tomorrow in presence of 175 invitees and volunteers, including religious leaders from across the country.
Shiv Sena Party chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced that he will not attend the ceremony citing Covid reasons. But he is not among the invitees. Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharti are also not among the invitees. The invitations have been issued by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust. Only those who have been invited, will be allowed to attend the function.
While Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev has received invitation for the ceremony, founder of Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravishankar, has not received the invite.
Two Muslims From Ayodhya Invited
Two Muslims from Ayodhya-Iqbal Ansari, who father Hashim Ansari was one of the litigants in the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi title suit case and Padmashree Mohammad Sharif, who cremated 25,000 unclaimed bodies as per the ritual of the religion of the deceased-have also been invited to witness the foundation laying ceremony.
Only Five Persons Will Be Allowed On Stage
There will be only five persons on the stage. They are Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Temple trust head Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aadityanath and UP Governor Smt. Anandiben Patel.
Mahesh Bhagchandka, Pawan Singhal from family of Ashok Singhal, former President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will be Mukhya Yajman (Chief Host) in Bhoomipujan.
A 22.60 kg brick, made of pure silver, will reportedly be used for the ceremony.
Sadhus from Tamil Nadu have brought two bricks made of gold and silver, with ‘Shri Ram’ in Tamil etched on them, which will be donated to Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust. The gold brick weighs 5 kg and the silver one weighs 20 kg.
The sacred soil from more than 2000 teerth sthan (religious places) which includes all Jyotirlingas, Golden Temple, Dr. Ambedkar’s Chaitya Bhoomi and water from more than 100 rivers have been brought at Ayodhya which will be used during Bhoomipujan.
Ahead of the ceremony, festivities have already begun in Ayodhya. Priests are seen performing ‘aartis’ and ‘havans’ and temples are being decorated with ‘diyas’.
Sadhus from Tamil Nadu have brought two bricks made of gold and silver, with ‘Shri Ram’ in Tamil etched on them, which will be donated to Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust. The gold brick weighs 5 kg and the silver one weighs 20 kg.
Ram Temple To Be Built In 3.5 Years
The 161 feet tall Ram Mandir is expected to be completed in 3.5 years.
Temple will have five domed mandap and one “shikhar”. There will be 360 pillars.
The two lakh bricks with Shri Ram inscribed in various languages and collected 30 years ago from across the country, will be used for foundation of the temple.
The 77-year-old architect Chandrakant Sompura, who comes from a family of temple architects that have designed over 200 such structures, including the Akshardham and Somnath temples of Gujarat, will oversee the construction of the Ram Temple.
Stones from Banshi mountains in Rajasthan are being used in the construction. Fifty percent work as per original design-106 columns, walls of the sanctum sanctorum and marble “chaukath”, had been completed.
Time capsule
A time capsule will be placed underground at the Ram Mandir construction site. This would help anyone who wishes to study the history of the temple. The time capsule would have details about Ayodhya and ‘Lord’ Ram.
