Ram temple trust meeting on Feb 19; date for start of construction, trustee appointments on agenda

Fixing the date for the beginning of the Ram temple's construction and appointment of two trustees are on the agenda of the 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra', a trust formed by the Union government for building the temple in Ayodhya, in its first meeting on February 19.

There is a view that Ram Navami, which falls in the first week of April, will be an auspicious day to start the work for building the temple but official sources said a decision will be taken after considering various aspects, including feasibility and opinions of other stakeholders.

BJP member Kameshwar Chaupal, who is one of the members of the trust, said the meeting will take place in the national capital.

Chaupal is a Dalit and laid the foundation for the temple during 'shilanyas' in 1989.

The Modi government has announced that at least one person on the 15-member trust will be a Dalit.

Member of 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra' Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati in Allahabad said they will also discuss the inclusion of Ram Mandir Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das in the trust.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 5 had announced in Lok Sabha the formation of the trust to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya as directed by the Supreme Court in its landmark verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case in November last year.

Senior lawyer K Parasaran has been named the head of the trust and its other members include Jagatguru Shankracharya, Jyothishpeethadheeshwar Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj from Allahabad, Jagatguru Madhavacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannatheerth Ji Maharaj, Pejawar Math in Udupi, Yugpurush Paramanand Ji Maharaj from Haridwar, Swami Govinddev Giri Ji Maharaj from Pune and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra from Ayodhya.

Two prominent people who shall be practising Hindus will be nominated by the board of trustees with a majority resolution.