KOVIND DONATES RS 5 LAKH FOR RAM TEMPLE

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday contributed ₹500,100 for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. The amount was handed over to a delegation comprising the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s international working president Alok Kumar, treasurer of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra trust, Govind Dev Giri and former bureaucrat Nripendra Misra, who is the head of the temple construction committee.

Kumar said in a letter given along with the money, the President has specified that the donation was in his personal capacity. “He is the first citizen of the country so we went to him to initiate this drive,” he said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s family has also donated an undisclosed amount.

The VHP, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological parent, was at the forefront of the Ram mandir construction movement. It has now been mandated to collect funds for the temple’s construction by the temple trust.

According to VHP functionaries, the construction of the temple is expected to incur an expenditure of ₹300-400 crore while the overall cost of the development of the temple complex which will have a prayer hall and an auditorium will be about ₹1100 crore.

“Money is being collected from individuals as no state funding will be accepted for the construction. Volunteers will spread out to 5.25 lakh villages seeking funds from people across castes and communities,” said a VHP functionary who asked not to be named. According to a second VHP functionary , so far, 75,000 people have contributed for the construction, of which 70,000 paid through online platforms. Donations are also being received in cash at the counters set up in Ayodhya.