By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
The Ram Janmabhoomi at Ayodhya has always been under a critical phase due to the continuous demand to build Ram Temple at the disputed site, even without the nod of the Supreme Court. This demand had gathered pace after BJP formed a government in the centre and turned it into a mass movement when Yogi Adityanath took charge as Chief Minister of the state.
This time, a fresh consignment of stones for Ram Temple at Ayodhya has given a boost to this demand and a kick to the controversy.
The consignment reached a week before and the stones are stored at Ramsevak Puram of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas. The 18 large pieces of sandstones reached Ayodhya in three large trucks from Bharatpur of Rajasthan.
Vishva Hindu Parishad, which is overseeing the whole operation has also informed that around hundred trucks of stones are yet to arrive in the state in following few weeks.
A VHP source from Lucknow told TwoCircles.net, “We are told to remain discreet about this because the incoming stones have increased since last month and it is likely to increase further in the coming months.”
Another consignment of stone had reached during last month of June, which created an environment of fresh ‘Ram Temple movement’ in the region.
Previous Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh had stopped Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas to bring more stones into the state citing the Supreme Court’s “status quo” at the disputed site.
But this time, the VHP and other Hindutva organisations have got support since Yogi Adityanath came into the power in the state. Various meetings and seminars were organised in past three months only over the construction of Ram Mandir temple.
On July 3, members of Muslim Karsevak Manch, an RSS-backed nationalist Muslim outfit, shouted slogans ‘Jai Shriram’ in Deva Sharif, a Sufi dargah situated in Barabanki. Moreover, many outfits associated with RSS and VHP are conducting local level campaigns in support of Ram Mandir.
While the stone consignment has raised many questions, the district administration is giving absurd reasons for the same. Faizabad divisional commissioner Manoj Mishra told Times of India, “Bringing stones to Ayodhya has not been banned by any court or authority, and the VHP is storing them in their private premises.”