E-Paper
Inauspicious time for laying Ram temple foundation stone: Swaroopanand Saraswati
Swaroopanand Saraswati had earlier expressed unhappiness with the composition of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust constituted by the Centre to oversee construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya
Swaroopanand Saraswati the Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth has expressed his unhappiness at the timing of laying the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and called it inauspicious.
“We don’t want any position or to be a trustee of the Ram Temple. We only want that the temple should be built properly and the foundation stone should be laid at the right time, but this is an ‘ashubh ghadi’ (inauspicious time),” ANI quoted him as saying
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5 after a request by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra.
In February, Swaroopanand Saraswati had expressed unhappiness with the composition of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust constituted by the Centre to oversee construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He particularly objected to the inclusion of Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati in the trust as a Shankaracharya, despite different courts having ruled against his use of the title.
Swaroopanand had also said that as a Shankaracharya, he should have been made the head of the trust.
The groundbreaking ceremony in Ayodhya is scheduled to take place amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh. To cut down the risk of infection, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra has decided that there will not be more than 200 people, including 150 invitees at the foundation stone laying ceremony to ensure that social distancing can be properly maintained.
Ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony, PM Modi is scheduled to offer prayers to Lord Ram at the temple and Lord Hanuman at Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya.
