Ram temple work should be conducted peacefully: PM tells trust members

Describing it as a courtesy meeting, Champat Rai said the prime minister also said nothing should be done to disturb the atmosphere of the country

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked members of the newly constituted Ram temple trust to ensure that construction work on the temple is conducted harmoniously and without any bitterness, the trust's general secretary Champat Rai said on Friday.

President of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Nritya Gopal Das and three other members called on the prime minister at his residence here on Thursday and invited him to visit Ayodhya for the 'bhoomi pujan', or ground-breaking ceremony.

A date for the ceremony is yet to be finalised.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modiji suggested it should be ensured that work for temple construction should be conducted peacefully without creating any disharmony or bitterness," Rai told reporters a day after the meeting.

Describing it as a courtesy meeting, Rai said the prime minister also said nothing should be done to disturb the atmosphere of the country.

The four members who met Modi were Das, Rai, K Parasaran and Swami Govind Giri Maharaj.

Das, who heads the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, was elected as president of the new trust at its first meeting on February 19. Rai was chosen as general secretary.

The 15-member trust was constituted by the Modi government after the Supreme Court's landmark verdict on November 9 in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case which settled the long-festering religious issue and allowed the building of a temple at the disputed site where many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

Announcement of the formation of the trust was made by Modi in the Lok Sabha.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is also working on celebrations for a 'RamoUtsav', in the run-up to Ram Navami, from March 25 till April 8.

VHP workers will reach out to all 2.75 lakh villages which had contributed for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the organisation's members said.