The Congress party has slammed the BJP for not getting an invite to Ram Mandir's Bhoomi Pujan which is to be held in Ayodhya on August 5. The miffed leaders have accused the saffron party of stealing credit and said that the event has been turned into an "exclusive BJP-RSS ceremony".
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra - the trust constituted to oversee the temple construction - said that they have not invited any opposition leaders. Swami Govind Dev Giri, treasurer of the trust, told ThePrint, "We have not sent an invite to any political party as we don’t want to differentiate between parties. We can’t pick and choose. Lord Ram is a holy figure for all. We are appealing to all those who have not been invited to pray wherever they are."
Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambhara have received an invite. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi have also been invited for the ceremony.
The preparations are in full swing to welcome PM Narendra Modi who will lay the foundation stone at 12:15 pm.
Buildings on both sides of the roads that the PM's convoy will take from the helipad at the Saket College in the city to reach the Ram Janmabhoomi site is being given a fresh coat of yellow paint with plans to depict various characters of the Ramayana on them.
The work to paint the buildings on both sides of the three-km stretch of the road and draw sketches of the Ramayana characters on them has been given to Ayodhya Nagar Nigam, said Ayodhya Information Deputy Director Murli Dhar Singh.
While life-size sketches of both Lord Ram and Sita will adorn the helipad at Saket College, sketches and drawings of Ramayana characters will adorn the building walls on both sides of the roads, he said.
The stretch is also being cleared of the roadside vendors and shopkeepers to give the prime minister's convoy free and clear access, he said The prime minister will also visit the Hanuman Garhi temple and the buildings on roads leading to it too are being spruced up, he said.
Sharing details of the upcoming event, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, said that the 'Bhoomi Pujan' will be live telecasted on public broadcaster Doordarshan. "The day PM @narendramodi ji will be in Ayodhya to inaugurate the construction of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir, it will be the most historic moment in the history of independent India. The event will be telecasted LIVE on Doordarshan. Other channels will also broadcast the telecast," the trust constituted to oversee the temple construction said in a tweet on Saturday.
The trust has also appealed all Sants, Mahatmas and devotees of Lord Ram to pray while the ceremony is going on. "We appeal to all pujya Sant-Mahatma and Shri Ram bhakts across the globe to do Samuhik Pujan & Bhajan-Kirtan with their family, friends & the society, between 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM," they said.
