As two trucks of stones arrived in Ayodhya for the construction of a temple near the site of the Babri Masjid, the head of a trust has claimed that the Modi government has given “signals” that the temple would be built “now”.
According to a PTI report, six months after the VHP announced a stone collection drive to construct a temple near the Babri Masjid, two trucks of stones have been unloaded at a VHP facility in Ayodhya.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, president of the Ram Janam Bhumi Nyas, told reporters: “Now, the time has come for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Lot of stones arrived today in Ayodhya. And now the arrival of stones will continue. We have signals from Modi Government that Mandir construction would be done now,” Das told PTI on Sunday.
VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma said that the stones were unloaded at Ram Sewak Puram, a VHP property in Ayodhya, and that a ‘Shila Pujan’ (praying of the stones) had been performed by Nritya Gopal Das.
The local administration in Ayodha has stepped up security with the arrival of the trucks on Sunday to avoid any untoward incidents.
“We are monitoring all the developments minutely. Stones have arrived and being kept in a private premises. Due to this development, if there was any breach in peace or communal harmony we will definitely take action,” said Faizabad Senior Superintendent of Police Mohit Gupta.
Principal Secretary (Home), Devashish Panda, stated the Akhilesh Yadav-led government’s position saying, “Since the matter is sub judice, the government will not allow starting of any new tradition regarding Ayodhya issue,” he had said.
This comes after almost six months when the VHP announced its nationwide campaign to collect stones for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Earlier the late VHP leader Ashok Singhal, who died last month in Gurgaon, had said, “About 2.25 lakhs cubic ft of stones are required for the construction of the Ram temple and about 1.25 lakh cubic ft of stones are ready at the VHP’s headquarter in Ayodhya. The rest one lakh cubic ft stones would be collected nationwide from Hindu devotees.”