Modi sees Ram Temple at Ayodhya a part of India’s civilizational treasure: Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Misra

New Delhi [India], September 27 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees the grand Ram temple at Ayodhya as a part of India’s civilizational treasure, a part of the faith of the country, and is interested in knowing the progress of work, Chairman of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Construction Committee Nripendra Misra has said.
Misra told ANI in an interview that there's no government money in the trust set up for the construction of the temple and not a pie would be spent from the exchequer of Uttar Pradesh or central governments.
He said PM Modi had an expectation that the communities would resolve the Ayodhya dispute amongst themselves and was very satisfied when the judicial pronouncement came
Referring to PM Modi’s closeness to the temple, Misra said he sees it as a part of country’s cultural evolution.
"PM Modi believes that this temple must become a reality because he sees this as a part of his cultural evolution of this country. He sees this as a part of a treasure of the civilization of this country, of the faith of this country. It was his expectation that the communities would resolve between themselves, amongst themselves, and a temple would come up and he, obviously, was extremely satisfied when the judicial pronouncement came,” Misra said.
“That was very evident and it was for that reason he appealed to the masses that there should be no sense of victory and defeat, everbody is a winner and everybody must celebrate the truth that the problem is resolved. That is how it got resolved. There is no appeal, there is no legal challenge now,” he added.
Referring to long litigation and the origins of the dispute about 500 years back, Misra said it has been resolved.
Misra, a former principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the trust was formed according to the directions of the Supreme Court and is carrying out the construction work.
"PM Modi, by nature, entrusts the responsibilities of all projects to the people who have to do the work. So this temple was entrusted to trust. The trust was formed as per the Supreme Court judgment, and there's no government in this trust. There's no government money in this trust. In the area of these 71 acres, not a pie would be spent from the exchequer of the UP government or Central government. It is all coming from people's participation,” he said.
“It is all from lakhs and lakhs of people who participated and contributed money as donations for this temple. Prime Minister is interested in knowing the progress and he is extremely conscious to know if there is any problem in the construction of the temple. As far as the work is concerned, it is only given to trust, and the trust is doing it," he added.
Misra said donations were collected from people for construction of the temple.
"Our trust, Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra took help from other organisations and tried that workers will visit at least 4 lakh villages, meet the devotees and collect donations. There are people who have given Rs 10 crore, Rs 50 crores...and through this medium, around Rs 3,500 crores has been collected,” he said.
The verdict of Supreme Court in 2019 paved the way for the construction of grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Following the apex court verdict, the Centre set up Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra' Trust to take all decisions regarding creation of a magnificent RamTemple in Ayodhya
The construction of the temple has been progressing at a steady pace under the supervision of the Trust. The idol of Ram Lalla will be in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
Misra said the ground floor of the temple has five mandaps, starting with the sanctum-sanctorum, where the deity would be installed.
“It is safe to announce through ANI that the pilgrims would be able to have a glimpse of Lord Ram in his child form definitely before 26th January, 2024,” he said.
"I will not be able to give you the exact date because that would depend on the date announced by the Prime Minister's Office for the participation of PM on the last day of Praan Pratishtha, which has not been fixed yet. The date has not come from the Prime Minister's Office and we have to respect the decision of the PM's office in this matter," he added.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Ram Temple on August 5, 2020. (ANI)