| Lucknow |
Published: February 18, 2020 4:59:54 am
The campaign leaflet.
Days after the formation of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Ramalaya Trust of Shankaracharya Swami Shree Swaroopanand Saraswati has started a campaign to collect gold from all over the country to build a 25-ft-high “Swarnalaya Shri Ram Lalla” in which they plan to shift the idol of Ramlalla. The newly formed Ram Janmabhoomi Trust by the government, however, has called the initiative illegal, and the issue is most likely to be raised in its first meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Delhi.
According to the secretary of Ramalaya Trust, Swami Avimukteshwaranand, 1,008 kg gold will be collected from 7 lakh villages in the country during the campaign titled, Swarna Sangrah Saparya. “Ramlallaji is still in a tent. They will start the construction of a temple and it will take several years to construct a grand Ram Temple. Therefore, Shankaracharya ji Maharaj ( Swaroopanand Saraswati) thought that Lord Ram has already spent so much time in the tent and even after our win in the Supreme Court, it is not good to keep him there. When there was a status quo, it was not possible but now things have changed. This is the reason we want to build a temporary temple for Ramlalla,” Avimukteshwaranand told The Indian Express.
When asked how can they start something like this on their own when the government has already instituted a Trust for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the secretary said, “Before the Trust was formed by the government, an application was given by Ramalaya Trust with four Shankaracharyas, all five main acharyas of Vaishnav community and chiefs of all 13 akharas. But still, they did not trust them and sent the people of BJP and RSS into the Ram Mandir Trust. All the Hindus are not in the BJP and RSS. There are Hindus outside of these organisations. Those Hindus want to show their devotion through Swaroopanand ji… The decision of Supreme Court came on November 9 and if the government wanted they could have shifted Ramlalla out of the tent but they did not do so.”
Claiming that the Varanasi-based Ramalaya Trust was formed around 25 years ago, he said that they will go to Supreme Court against the formation of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. “Those people who did Kar Sewa in Ayodhya and maligned Hindus all over the world are now in that trust,” he added.“In the first three months, we will make the preparations, and in the next nine years we will collect,” he said.
An official of the Ramalaya Trust said that they are making two structures that will be later covered in 108 kg gold and rest 900 kg will be contributed for the construction of the proposed Ram Temple. “The first structure (will be called Bal Mandir), which is made of wood of the size of the tent (24x24x25 ft) in which Ramlalla is currently living. This has already been constructed in Varanasi. Inside this, there will be a smaller structure in which Ramlalla will be kept. This will be made of sandalwood and is being constructed in Madhya Pradesh. After 1,008 kg of gold is collected, we will use 8 kg on the inside structure, 100 kg on the outside temple and 900 kg will be handed over for the construction of the grand Ram Temple,” he added.
Meanwhile, members of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust called the step “unnecessary and illegal”. Nirmohi Akhara’s Mahant Dinendra Das said the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust has been formed by the government as per the Supreme Court’s order and no other party is needed or has any say in the matter. “They are misleading the people… Whatever the members of the Trust will decide will be final,” Das said. Ram Janmabhoomi Trust member Anil Mishra said the Ramalaya Trust’s campaign is unconstitutional and people will reject it.
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