LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi
Ayodhya: Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, who is among the leading leaders of the Ram Temple movement, and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi have been requested not to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla to be held next month. Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust formed for the construction of Ram temple, said this on Monday.
What is the whole matter?
Talking to reporters, Champat Rai said on a question about inviting Advani and Joshi to the consecration ceremony, “Both are elders in the family and considering their age, they were requested not to come, which was done.” Both have accepted.
Rai said that preparations for the consecration ceremony on January 22 are in full swing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in this. He said, “Preparations will be completed by January 15 and the puja for the consecration will begin from January 16 and will continue till January 22.”
Giving the detailed list of invitees, Rai said Advani and Joshi would probably not attend the inauguration ceremony due to health and age reasons. Advani is now 96 years old and Joshi will turn 90 next month. Rai said that a three-member team has been formed to meet former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and invite him to the function.
Who will come?
Champat Rai said, “150 sages and saints from different traditions and 13 Akharas including Shankaracharyas from six darshan traditions will participate in the event. About four thousand saints have been invited to the program. Apart from this, invitations have also been sent to 2200 other guests.
Rai said that heads of major temples like Kashi Vishwanath, Vaishnodevi, representatives of religious and constitutional institutions have also been invited. He told that spiritual guru Dalai Lama, Mata Amritanandamayi of Kerala, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, actors Rajnikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Arun Govil, film director Madhur Bhandarkar and leading industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, famous painter Vasudev Kamat, ISRO’s Director Nilesh Desai and many other renowned personalities will also be present at the consecration ceremony.
After the consecration ceremony, Mandal Puja will be held for 48 days from January 24 as per the tradition of North India. At the same time, from January 23, common people will be able to have darshan of Ramlala. Rai said that proper arrangements have been made for the guests to stay at more than three places in Ayodhya. Apart from this, 600 rooms have been made available by various monasteries, temples and household families.
Bhandara will also start at three major places from 25th December. Meanwhile, Ayodhya Municipal Corporation has started preparations for the consecration ceremony. Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh told ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that toilets for devotees and ‘changing rooms’ for women will be built in Ayodhya. He informed that Ram Katha Kunj corridor will be built in the Ram Janmabhoomi complex, tableaux will be decorated to celebrate the events from Lord Ram’s Putrashti Yagya to Ram’s coronation through idols so that the young next generation can understand the life of Shri Ram closely. Can. Ram Katha Kunj corridor will be decorated through 108 themes based on the life of Lord Ram. Apart from this, the corridor on the way to the Passenger Facilitation Center will also be decorated. (input language)
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