Unaffected by not being named trustee for Ram temple construction: Vedanti

Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas member Ram Vilas Vedanti has said he is not concerned about his name not being included in list of members of the newly formed trust for construction of a temple dedicated to the deity in Ayodhya.

The former BJP MP said he is willing to sacrifice even his life to ensure that a temple dedicated to Ram is built at the formerly disputed site.

"I am not concerned that my name is not there in the list of trustees. I am happy that the trust has been constituted for construction of the Ram temple. My body can also be used for the foundation, but there should be a grand temple," Vedanti told reporters here on Wednesday night.

"It's not necessary that everyone is included in the trust. We are the ones who devoted everything for Ram temple. We are the ones who are the foundation stones of the temple construction, tough we were not given name (credit)," he said.

The political and religious leader has been for decades associated with the movement seeking construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Centre on Wednesday constituted an independent 15-member trust to oversee the construction of a "grand and magnificent" Ram temple in Ayodhya, an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha four days before the expiry of a three-month deadline set by the Supreme Court.

In a landmark ruling settling the contentious Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, the Supreme Court had on November 9 last year directed the Centre to constitute a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple at the site in Ayodhya.