CM Yogi gets ready for Ram Mandir construction; calls key meeting of all stakeholders

A day after a spokesperson said that the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is likely to begin next month and an invitation has been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct the 'bhumi pujan' for it, CM Yogi Adityanath has called a meeting on Friday.

CM Yogi to chair high-level meet

According to sources, the meeting reviewing the preparations before construction of the temple will be held at 6:30 pm at 5, Kalidas Marg in Lucknow. 

Sources said that Charitable Affairs Minister Neil Kanth Tiwari, Additional Chief Secretary Avnish Awasthi, Chief Secretary and Ayodhya District Magistrates will join the meeting. On Saturday, another meeting of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is scheduled in which the date for the laying of the foundation stone of the temple can be decided.

A tentative programme for the construction of the temple is likely to be decided in the meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust here on Saturday, Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the official spokesperson of the Trust's president said on Thursday.

PM Modi invited for 'Bhumi Pujan'

"Trust's president Nritya Gopal Das has sent a letter to the Prime Minister, inviting him to conduct the 'Bhumi Pujan' of Ram Mandir on the occasion of its foundation laying ceremony," he said. There is, however, no clarity as of now on Prime Minister's presence on the occasion, he said, adding a clearer picture is likely to emerge after the July 18 meeting.

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi's former principal secretary Nripendra Mishra, also the chairman of the construction committee of the temple trust, visited Ayodhya on Thursday along with BSF's former director-general  KK Sharma, the security adviser of the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, and met various members of the Ram Temple Trust, set up as per the directions of the apex court.

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Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and member Mahant Dinendra Das, who live in Ayodhya itself, however, were not present in the meeting.  Ayodhya BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, meanwhile said that efforts are on to bring the Prime Minister to Ayodhya to inaugurate the construction of Ram Mandir.

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"If Prime Minister comes to Ayodhya, its destiny will change and our dream of making Ayodhya like Vatican City will come true," news agency PTI quoted Gupta as saying.

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(With PTI inputs)