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18 shortlisted for Ram Temple CEO post amid donation case, interviews from today
The 18 shortlisted candidates reached Ayodhya late on Monday and were instructed to not talk to media during their stay in the city.
Eighteen candidates have been shortlisted from a pool of 5,200 applicants for the first full-time chief executive officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The decision to appoint a full-time CEO was taken after the allegations of embezzlement of donation funds came to light.
Shortlisted candidates reach Ayodhya
According to a senior trust official, all 18 candidates reached Ayodhya late on Monday and stayed at various locations in the temple town suggested by the trust, a trust official said.
The shortlisted candidates, who include former bureaucrats and former senior position holders of temples in South India, will be interviewed at the temple premises on Tuesday and Wednesday by a panel comprising former justice Pramod Kohli, lieutenant general (retired) Vishnukant Chaturvedi and scientist Suresh Haware, former chairman of the Shirdi Sai Baba Trust, a senior staff member of the trust said, adding that the interview process will start at 10am.
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“The interview will be conducted in the Ram temple and the candidates have been instructed not to interact with the media,” the trust official aware of the details said.
From the 18 applicants, it will zero in on three names for the trust to make the final call.
CEO's rule and current general secretary
The CEO’s primary responsibility will be to oversee the administration and management of the Ram temple’s affairs and businesses. According to the official, the selected candidate will have to be a practising Hindu and strictly follow Hindu traditions and guidelines.
The candidate will also have to be a pure vegetarian and a strict teetotaller.
The age criterion for the post has been fixed between 50 and 70 years, the official added.
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Meanwhile, Krishna Mohan, the interim general secretary of the trust, is likely to continue on the post as no consensus could be reached on a new name for the position, people familiar with the matter said.
Mohan, a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary and retired Indian Forest Service officer, was made the interim general secretary after Champat Rai resigned following allegations of embezzlement of Ram temple donations. Rai is currently senior vice president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The vacancy triggered a push from both the RSS and VHP to place their own candidate for the post, people aware of the details said.
