Centre sets up trust for building Ram temple
AYODHYA 15-member trust to take all decisions, UP approves alternative land for mosque
NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narend r a Modi o n Wedne s d a y announced the Centre’s decision to set up a temple trust to build the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya in line with the verdict of the Supreme Court. The decision comes four days before the three-month deadline fixed by the Supreme Court to set up the trust and three days before the assembly elections in Delhi.
“I have come before you to give information on a very important and historic topic. This issue, like crores of people, is close to my heart and I consider it my fortune to speak about this topic. This is connected to Ram Janamsthan Bhoomi and the construction of a grand temple at Ayodhya,” PM Modi told the Lok Sabha minutes after the Union Cabinet cleared the move.
The trust, to be called Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, will be empowered to take all decisions related to building a grand temple at Lord Ram’s birthplace and related matters, Modi told the Lower House of Parliament amid loud thumping by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers.
The Centre also decided to
The govt said it will be incorrect to link the Union Cabinet's decision to form the trust to the Delhi elections on Feb 8. SC had directed the Centre to form the trust within three months, and that deadline was set to end on Feb 9
transfer the 67.703 acre of land to the trust.
On November 9, 2019, a fivejudge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court awarded the title of the 2.77-acre disputed land where Babri Masjid once stood to Ram Lalla Virajman, the child deity, and ruled that the land be handed over to a temple trust to be set up by the government. It also directed the government to
give an alternative five-acre site to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque. A review filed against this verdict was dismissed by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on December 12.
Later in the day, Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra will have 15 trustees and one of
them will be from the Dalit community. “There will be 15 trustees in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust out of which one trustee will always be from the Dalit society,” he tweeted.
Speaking moments after the Lower House commenced for the day, PM Modi also announced that the Uttar Pradesh govern
NEW DELHI: India and the US are finalising a limited trade package, centred around medical devices and agricultural products, that is expected to be unveiled during President Donald Trump’s visit in the third week of this month, people familiar with development said on Tuesday.
The final touches will be given to the package when US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer visits New Delhi early next week for talks with Indian interlocutors, including commerce minister Piyush Goyal, the people added on condition of anonymity.
One of the highlights of the visit is expected to be a public event featuring Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though there is a question mark on whether the US president will travel to locations other than New Delhi during his short visit, said the people who declined to be