Ram Temple Trust set to get first CEO as selection panel begins interviews

A high-powered panel on Tuesday is interviewing 18 candidates for appointment as the first full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

The Trust had decided to appoint a full-time CEO after the alleged Ram temple donation embezzlement came to light.

According to a senior functionary of the Trust, all the 18 candidates, shortlisted from 5,200 applicants, reached Ayodhya late on Monday night and stayed at various locations in the temple town as suggested by the Trust.

The interview is being carried out in the conference room of the Ram temple's pilgrim facilitation centre in Ayodhya.

 

If the interviews are not completed on Tuesday, the process may continue on Wednesday, sources in the Trust said.

The candidates reached the Ram temple complex at around 9 am and the interview process started at 10 am, they said.

"Each candidate had forwarded his arrival schedule at the Ayodhya airport. They were picked up by people appointed by the Trust. From the airport, they were taken to the different locations in separate vehicles," sources said.

"The candidates have been instructed not to interact with the media. After the interview is over, all of them will be taken back to the Ayodhya airport to board a flight to New Delhi. From Delhi, they will board flights to their respective destinations," they added.

The 18 candidates include former bureaucrats and former senior position holders of temples in South India, according to sources.

The three-member selection committee landed in Ayodhya Monday night for the screening.

From the 18 applicants, it will zero in on three names for the Trust to make the final call.

The panel comprises retired Supreme Court judge Justice Pramod Kohli, Lt Gen (Retd) Vishnukant Chaturvedi, and Suresh Haware.