Hindustan Times : Aug 05, 2020, 04:59 PM
New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind hailed the groundbreaking ceremony in Ayodhya where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Ram temple.“Felicitations to all for the foundation laying of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Being built in tune with law, it defines India’s spirit of social harmony and people’s zeal. It will be a testimony to ideals of RamRajya and a symbol of modern India,” he tweeted om Wednesday.PM Modi on Wednesday offered prayers and laid the foundation stone for a grand temple at the site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. The groundbreaking ceremony marks the formal launch of the temple’s construction promised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nearly three decades earlier.Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath were among those who attended the event.The guest list, including religious leaders, was restricted to 175 in view of the Covid-19 crisis. As a priest chanted Sanskrit ‘shlokas’ and the groundbreaking ceremony got underway, PM Modi and the other dignitaries, all in masks, maintained social distancing and sat a safe distance away from each other.Slogans of ‘Bharat Mataki Jai’ and ‘Har Har Mahadev’ went up as the ritual ended and the prime minister laid the foundation of the temple.Bhajans and ‘shlokas’ were heard as the town, festooned with marigold flowers and yellow and saffron flags, 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. Most shops were painted in bright yellow.