Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi (SHP)
New Delhi, Dec 18: Dismissing media reports, home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that there would no one from the BJP who will be a part of the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya. The trust will be given the authority to oversee the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, earlier it was rumoured that Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be part of the body that will be set up on the orders of the Supreme Court.
"I want to make two things clear, there won’t be any trustee from among the BJP members and the government will not spend anything on the project. The trust will have to collect donations from the society to make it [the temple]," Shah stated.
"The people involved in the construction of the temple will decide on the timeline for the completion of the project," he said.
"The Supreme Court has ordered us to complete all processes (of coming up with a scheme to build the temple) within 90 days, and I believe that we will be able to do it," Shah added.
As per sources, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) plans to crowdfund Rs 100 crore for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
On November 9 the top court ruled in favour of the Hindu parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. The court also ordered that a trust should be set up which would take over the temple's construction.
The functionaries cited above said that once the trust is formed, it will make a formal announcement on the fund collection exercise. The office-bearers of the trust are likely to make an appeal for crowdfunding at the Sant Sammelan or gathering of saints that the VHP plans to hold during Magh Mela in Prayagraj in February 2020.
On Monday, speaking at an election rally in Jharkhand, Shah said the construction of a 'sky-high' temple at Ayodhya would begin in the next four months.
VHP’s working president Alok Kumar said that the purpose of crowdfunding is to ensure participation of Ram devotees from across the globe. "The VHP will not make any announcement for crowdfunding. Instead, the trust will issue an appeal. I will make it clear that the VHP will not collect any funds for temple construction; nor will the Parishad construct the temple. After the construction of the temple, the Parishad will neither manage the temple nor have any participation or right in the offerings made at the temple. Everything will be managed by the trust," he said.
VHP vice-president Champat Rai said that every Ram devotee should have a contribution in the temple construction. He added that it was too early to reveal details of the exact financial contribution to be accepted.
Last Friday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath appealed to people at an election rally in Jharkhand that every Hindu family should contribute Rs 11 and brick for the construction of the temple.
Rai backed Adityanath’s appeal claiming that it would ensure the participation of every Hindu 'in this much-awaited construction that holds great religious importance'.