Advani ji must be watching Ram Temple bhoomi pujan from home: RSS chief

Ayodhya: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Wednesday the foundation laying ceremony for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya has come after decades-old struggle and has been a moment of great satisfaction.

The RSS chief said the organisation worked nearly 30 years for the fulfilment of the resolve to construct the temple in Ayodhya.

“We had taken a resolution. I remember the then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras telling us that we will have to struggle for 20 to 30 years, only then will this be fulfilled. We struggled and at the beginning of the 30th year, we have attained the joy of fulfilling our resolution,” Bhagwat said.

His comments came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhoomi pujan of a Supreme Court-mandated Ram temple in Ayodhya, bringing to fruition the BJP’s movement that defined its politics for three decades.

“There is a wave of joy in the entire country today. There is a pleasure about the fulfilment of centuries of hope. The greatest joy is because of the establishment of the self-confidence, which was lacking, today to make India self-reliant,” he said.

“So many people had sacrificed but they couldn’t be here physically. There are some who couldn’t come here, Advani ji must be watching this at his home. There are some who should’ve come but couldn’t be invited because of the situation (coronavirus pandemic,” he added.

Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anadiben Patel were among those who attended the event at the site where some Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

The guest list, including religious leaders who formed part of the movement that started in the 1980s, was restricted to 175 in view of the Covid-19 crisis.

Priests chanted Sanskrit shlokas and the ground-breaking ceremony got underway under a giant marquee decorated in shades of reds and yellows and Modi and the other dignitaries, all in masks, maintained social distancing.

As the Prime Minister laid the foundation of the temple, slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ went up as the ritual ended.

The temple town was decorated with marigold flowers and yellow and saffron flags as residents celebrated the beginning of the construction of a grand Ram temple. Roads leading to Ayodhya were adorned with hoardings of the proposed temple and of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, the deity now housed in a makeshift temple.

The Prime Minister had arrived in Ayodhya in a helicopter from the state capital of Lucknow and was received by Adityanath among others. Before the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple, the Prime Minister took part in prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple.

From there, he travelled to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi site where he performed prayers to the Bhagwan Shree Ramlala Virajman. He also planted a sapling of Parijat or Indian night jasmine.