LK Advani, MM Joshi likely to join 'bhoomi pujan' of Ram Temple on 5 Aug over video conference

New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are likely to join the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 5 August through video conferencing due to health conditions, sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday according to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the president of the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust.

The construction work of the Ram temple will begin after the foundation stone laying ceremony, in which chief ministers of several states, ministers from the Union Cabinet and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat are also likely to participate. According to potters in the state, around 1.25 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) were ordered for the ceremony on 5 August. Preparations, including a cleanliness drive and sanitisation, are underway in Ayodhya ahead of the foundation laying ceremony of the Ram Temple. People were seen cleaning the roads, markets and ghats. Several areas in Ayodhya are being illuminated with diyas and colourful lights. On 9 November, 2019, a five-judge Supreme Court bench led by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi ruled in favour of Ram Lalla and said the entire disputed land spread over 2.7 acres will be handed over to a trust formed by the government, which will monitor the construction of a Ram Temple at the site.