'Did Ram become political?': Nripendra Mishra on row over Ayodhya event
Nripendra Mishra also said that those who have faith in the temple weren't restricted to India but were spread across the world.
Ayodhya Ram Temple Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Mishra, speaking about Opposition parties calling the inauguration ceremony a “political event by the BJP”, said on Wednesday that he didn't understand whether Lord Ram became political or devotees were making him political.
He questioned speaking to ANI ahead of the pranpratishtha ceremony inaugurating the Ram Temple, “I don't understand one thing - whether it is Lord Ram who became political or is it his devotees who are making him political. That is the question - Did Lord Ram become political? Is He looking at different people in different manners after becoming political? Is He making different systems of devotion for different people? Is he blessing different people in different manners? We consider Maryada Purushottam, Maryada Purushottam. How can politics get linked to Him if he is Maryada Purushottam? It is our point of view whether we see it as political.”
Calling the inauguration ceremony a historic event, Mishra said, “It is something that we have known, has at least 500 years of history and was fought on various grounds. There was a belief, I would call it universal among Hindus that Ram belonged to Ayodhya and he must get that recognition. The place where people believed the temple was. Many believe that around that place, the so-called lineage of Ram and previous kings ruled from Ayodhya.”
He added, “With that kind of faith and belief, suddenly realisation has come that Lord Ram would come to the temple and consecration will take place. What we call pranpratishtha.”
Mishra also said that those who have faith in the temple weren't restricted to India but were spread across the world. “There is not only in India but all over who have faith, they feel that their rights have been recognised, their faith has been respected. So, from that sense of the term, there is jubilation.”
Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2019 speech, Mishra said that he believed in what the PM said when the judgement came.
He added that Modi said, “There should be no sense of victory or no sense of defeat. We must all accept the judicial pronouncement. So, everyone is cautious that while you celebrate this day, don't celebrate this day as something which is to show any other person of a different faith that he is less important to this country. This country belongs to everybody.”
Further Mishra told ANI, “On 22nd, the 'muhurt' is around 12.30. The 'puja vidhi' prior to that has begun and perhaps tomorrow morning, Ramlalla will be in ‘garbhagriha’.”
Speaking about the ceremony, Mishra said that the temple has been constructed. He added, “The temple of Ramlalla will have 'garbhagriha', five mandaps and that temple will be on the ground floor. That temple is complete. The first floor, which is under construction, will have 'Ram Darbar'...The second floor is just for 'anushthan', the different types of 'yagyas' and 'anushthan' will take place there”
Official sources indicate that over 7,000 individuals, including cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, and billionaire industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have been invited by the temple trust.
Ram temple complex, constructed in the traditional Nagara style, will have dimensions of 380 feet in length, 250 feet in width, and 161 feet in height. Each floor of the temple will be 20 feet high, featuring a total of 392 pillars and 44 gates.
In a 2019 verdict, the Supreme Court cleared the path for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya. The court directed the Centre to allocate an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a new mosque at a "prominent" location in the holy town of Uttar Pradesh. The court specified that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land, where the 16th-century-era Babri Masjid once stood, would remain with a central government receiver. It was mandated to be handed over to the trust within three months of the ruling for the construction of the temple.