Ram temple's basic structure in Ayodhya to be ready before 2024 polls: VHP

Working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, Ram Vilas Vedanti, on Sunday said he felt that the basic structure of the Ram temple in Ayodhya would be ready before the 2024 general elections. He was speaking to reporters here.

"After the formation of the (Ram temple) trust by the Centre, the process of building the grand temple has begun. I feel that the basic structure of the temple will be built before the 2024 elections," he said.

"Sixty-seven acres of land at the birth place of Lord Ram campus will prove to be inadequate as it would be the biggest temple in the world and an international tourist place as well," he added.

"It is possible that the government-formed trust will have to acquire more land from around for building the grand temple," the former BJP MP said.

Vedanti reiterated that as per the wishes of the saints and seers, the temple should be 1,111-feet high.

"The Ram temple in Ayodhya should be so high that it is visible in Islamabad, Colombo and Kathmandu. In consonance with our wish, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Ram temple will be sky-high," he added.

Asked why leaders associated with the Ram temple movement have not found a place in the trust, he said that those against whom cases are being heard in courts and who had fought elections on party lines have been kept out of it.

"I had myself fought Lok Sabha elections twice," he added.

"The trust set up by the government is good. The people who represent it want to get the temple built as per our wish," he added.

Accusing the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of being involved in the Delhi violence, he demanded a CBI probe against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.