The Ram Janmabhoomi movement is literally, decades-long . Whose contribution would you rate the most significant in this movement?

All credit for construction of Ram Mandir goes to sadhus and people of Ayodhya. They were the ones who were at the forefront of all Ram Mandir movements.Right from December 22, 1949, when sadhus broke into the Ram Janmabhoomi ( then a mosque) to capture it; the November 9, 1989 shilanyas; the October 30-November 2 1990 firing on karsevaks; December 6, 1992 (demolition of structure); and till date -- the people of Ayodhya have been at the forefront of the temple movement. Outsiders came and left Ayodhya during the temple movement. But without the support and active participation of sadhus and the people of Ayodhya, the Ram Mandir movement could have never succeeded. All credit for construction of Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya goes to the people of Ayodhya.

Apart from leaders from the RSS, VHP and BJP, would you like to give credit to someone else also for the Ram Mandir movement?

The Former Congress MLA Dau Dayal Khanna from Moradabad was the first to raise his voice for the Ram Mandir even before RSS and VHP. At the VHP’s ‘Hindu Sammelan’ in Muzaffarnagar in 1983, Khanna was the first to raise voice for Ram Mandir. He gave a call to build Ram Mandir at that meeting.

The Trust has invited PM Narendra Modi for the consecration ceremony . Has any date been fixed for the ceremony?

No date has been finalised yet. But the grand ceremony will take place on any day between Makar Sankranti on January 15 and January 24. The ceremony will not take place before Makar Sankranti due to Hindu belief and after January 25 as PM Narendra Modi will be occupied with Republic Day celebrations.

Will the Trust invite families of Karsevaks who died during the Ram Mandir movement for the ceremony?

No. It is not possible to invite everyone for the ceremony. We have our compulsions and limitations that restrict us .Everyone wants to come to Ayodhya to be a part of the grand ceremony. But this is not possible.

Read here: Ram temple work in full swing, completion nears

The RSS is planning to organise ‘nama sankirtan’ and other events in around five lakh temples across the country. These events will start at least 10-days before pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla.

The Trust has got three renowned sculptors to carve out Ram Lalla’s idol. Only one will be placed at sanctum-sanctorum of Ram Mandir. How will you select which one?

The best idol will be selected after taking the opinion of all concerned, including architects, experts and other sculptors. The remaining two idols will also be placed somewhere in the Ram Mandir.

The ground floor of the Ram Mandir is almost complete. When will the entire Ram Mandir come up ?

The Trust has set a deadline of December 2024 to complete all construction work of Ram Mandir. We are hopeful to meet this deadline as construction work of Ram Mandir is going as per schedule.

Two rocks were brought to Ayodhya from Nepal with much fanfare to carve out the temple’s idol. This was possible only after approval of the Nepal government. Why has the Trust rejected them?

They were cut and subjected to technical analysis by sculptors. But Nepalese rocks failed to fulfil all criteria and were found not suitable for Ram Lalla’s idol.The Trust ruled out Nepal rocks for Ram Lalla’s idol only after advice from sculptors.

Is there any plan to connect Ram Mandir (in the west) with Hanuman Garhi (in the east) by a straight road in future?

I cannot discuss this plan at present. It will be decided at an appropriate time when the construction work of Ram Mandir is complete.

How will the Trust manage Ram Mandir. Will it constitute a board like the ones for temples in South India?

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At present we have not decided. Any such decision will be taken after studying management of prominent temples across India.