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Ram Temple Dispute
The Nirmohi Akhara has approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to reconstitute the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, as a "public trust". In its application filed before the apex court, Nirmohi Akhara has sought directions declaring that the existing structure and composition of the trust as a "private trust" was inconsistent with the spirit and intent of the top court's November 2019 verdict in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case. The application has been filed in the disposed of matter in which the apex court on November 9, 2019, delivered a landmark verdict that paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The 2019 verdict also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. The Nirmohi Akhara filed the application through Mahant Raja Ramchandracharya Ateet Guru Raghunath Das. It has sought a direction to the Cen
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Special Investigation Team formed by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the alleged embezzlement of donation money at the Ram temple in Ayidhya to submit a status report in the matter. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohna also issued a notice to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on pleas seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the donations 'theft' row. Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, moved the top court seeking a CBI probe into the matter. He also sought a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the finances of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs of the Ram temple. Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav filed the second petition seeking similar measures. Besides seeking a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe, the third petition filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh has sought a forensic audit of the entire finances of the .
Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra on Sunday stated that the responsibilities and powers of the first-ever Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ayodhya temple will be determined by the temple Trust. The primary responsibility of the CEO will be to uphold the faith of the devotees in the trust, he said. "The new CEO will also oversee financial arrangements," Mishra told reporters in Ayodhya, adding that there won't be any "government interference" in the functioning of the trust or its CEO. Mishra added that ensuring that devotees visiting Ayodhya receive all necessary amenities and maintaining their trust in the temple will be among the new CEO's initial responsibilities. "In a way, the CEO will work as an assistant of the trust, sans government interference," Mishra said, noting that a three-member panel has been set up to recommend suitable candidates for the CEO's post to the trust. Ultimately, it is up to the trust to determine how much authority to ..
The Supreme Court would hear a batch of pleas seeking a fair and time-bound probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on July 13. On July 7, an Ayodhya court granted one-day police remand for three of the eight accused arrested in connection with the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple. The court authorised the remand for Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra and Karunesh Pandey. On June 29, a local court had sent all the eight accused to 14-day judicial custody. According to the Supreme Court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana will hear as many as three petitions filed on the issue when the apex court reopens on Monday. Narendra Kumar Goswami, one of the three petitioners, has moved the top court seeking a CBI probe into the incident. He also sought a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of the finances of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra Trust, which manages the affairs
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday sought stricter action against the "donation thieves" in the Ayodhya Ram temple embezzlement case and said people want them to be hanged. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said the alleged irregularities were serious, noting that an FIR had been registered in the matter. "If no theft had taken place, an FIR would not have been lodged, and eight people would not have been arrested," he said, adding that it is people's demand that the "donation thieves be hanged". "Only FIR is not sufficient," he added. He also alleged that many temples and religious institutions across the country had come under the control of people involved in donation theft. Such institutions should be freed from their control and handed over to religious leaders for proper management, the AAP chief said. Kejriwal added that those who are raising the issue are being targeted instead they are demanding action against the alleged culprits.
The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has served a notice to the wife of Ram temple donation theft accused Lavkush Mishra over the alleged unauthorised construction of a house under her name, as the police intensified their investigation into the alleged embezzlement case, official and police sources said on Thursday. According to ADA sources, the house under construction is located in Banvirpur village in Sohawal tehsil. The land was purchased in the name of Lavkush Mishra's wife, Supriya Mishra, and the construction was undertaken without obtaining the mandatory approval from the development authority. Police sources said investigators also searched Lavkush Mishra's residence on Wednesday and questioned his family members as part of the ongoing probe. Investigators may tighten the legal proceedings against accused Avinash Shukla, from whose possession the highest cash recovery in the case has been made so far, police sources indicated. According to police sources, cash recoveri
The alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has snowballed into a major controversy, with an SIT probe finding lapses in the shrine's donation management system and eight people associated with the counting of cash and valuables being arrested. Here is a look at what the investigation has found so far: While the details of how the donations were siphoned and exactly how much are still under investigation, the special investigation team (SIT) has pointed to some major lapses in its preliminary report. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) like deploying a security guard during a counting process, frisking of personnel while entering and leaving the counting room, and preserving CCTV footage of the donation-counting process for 180 days were violated, sources said, citing the findings of the report. In violation of rules, Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav, the former driver of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, held key
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday termed the alleged theft of donations collected for the Ram temple in Ayodhya "tragic" and "shameful", and said those responsible for collecting and safeguarding the donations should also be held accountable. Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the Wayanad Collectorate, Priyanka demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government conduct a thorough inquiry into the alleged incident. "It is really tragic. People from across the country-those who believe and have faith-made donations, and now those donations have reportedly been stolen. I think it is tragic and shameful," she said. She said the government must investigate what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. Priyanka said many people had contributed to the temple as part of a nationwide fundraising drive and that those who collected the donations must also take responsibility. "If people have given, women have given from their savings, from their homes, poor people have given
A day after the NCERT defended its modifying references to Babri Masjid demolition in school textbooks, Kerala Minister M B Rajesh on Monday termed it as a move to communalise all systems of the government and said there was a need to continue the collective fight against such attempts. Rajesh, a CPI(M) leader, said the BJP-led union government had done similar things in the past 10 years, also claiming that there was no agenda behind their actions. The present move by the NCERT has proved that despite the BJP's decreased number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the party losing the majority to rule independently, the Sangh Parivar was not ready to withdraw from its extreme communal agendas, the minister for Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) alleged. "This is a warning to everyone. So, we have to continue the fight against the Sangh Parivar and their efforts to communalise textbooks and all other systems of the government," he told reporters here. Rejecting accusations of ...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday claimed that the Congress will not win even 50 seats in the Lok Sabha elections and will not be able to get opposition party status after the polls. Addressing an election rally in Phulbani in Kandhamal Lok Sabha seat in Odisha, he asserted that a "double engine" government will be formed in the state and "a son or daughter of the soil who understands Odia language and culture" will be made the chief minister of the BJP government. Recalling the achievements of the previous BJP government at the Centre under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said that on this day 26 years ago, Pokhran tests had enhanced the image of the country across the globe. He also asserted that his government ended 500 years of people's wait by building Ram temple in Ayodhya.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar said nobody was discussing the issue of Ram temple in Ayodhya any more, suggesting that the ruling BJP may not get any political benefit from it in the current Lok Sabha elections. He made the statement while speaking to a few reporters at Purandar in Pune district on Thursday. When asked about whether the Ram temple would play any crucial role in the ongoing elections, he said, "The issue of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is now over, and no one is discussing it any more." "During a meeting, some women pointed out and complained that although the idol of Lord Ram has been installed, goddess Sita's idol is not there," the former Union minister said. However, Pawar's remarks drew criticism from the BJP, with the party's state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule saying that the former chief minister should have gathered information about the Ram temple in Ayodhya before commenting. "Lord Ram is there in his child form, but Pawar saheb is just interested in
The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on the plea challenging the order allowing Hindu prayers in a cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque to February 12. The Allahabad High Court heard the matter and adjourned it for February 12. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, which looks after the affairs of the mosque in Varanasi adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, had filed the plea on Friday last week challenging the Varanasi court order allowing prayers in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque. The Allahabad High Court had not given any immediate relief to the Gyanvapi Masjid committee which had challenged the Varanasi district court order.
The temple town of Ayodhya is all set to welcome Lord Ram with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to participate in the consecration ceremony at the newly constructed Ram Mandir on Monday. The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country, representatives of various tribal communities and prominent personalities. The ceremony will begin at 12:20 pm, and according to the temple's trust, it is expected to end by 1 pm. Following this, the prime minister will address the gathering. "The prime minister will also interact with 'shramjeevis' associated with the construction of the temple," a member of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is in charge of the construction and management of the Ram temple, said. Prime Minister Modi will also visit Kuber Tila, where an ancient Shiv temple has been restored. He w
Security was amplified multi-fold with deployment of over 4,000 police personnel across Noida and Greater Noida as vigilance was Sunday ramped up in Gautam Buddh Nagar district, which shares border with Delhi and Haryana. Monitoring of social media platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram also increased to keep a check on misinformation or circulation of content which may be adverse for law and order, officials said. Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh has directed officers to ensure maximum deployment on the ground, including for law and order and traffic duties, in view of the day of Shri Ram Lalla Pran Pratishthan programme in Ayodhya on Monday, a police spokesperson said. "Accordingly, the entire police commissionerate has been divided into three super zones, 10 zones, 26 sectors. 350 additional police forces and two companies of PAC have been allotted to police stations. For law and order duties, around 4,000 police personnel have been deployed while sniffer dogs, .