'Ram Mandir will be a symbol of modern India'

President Ram Nath Kovind said on Wednesday that laying of the foundation stone of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya defines India's spirit of social harmony and people's zeal. 

IMAGE: A man stands near a flag during a live screening of the stone laying ceremony of the Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ayodhya, in New Delhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

He said it will be a testimony to ideals of 'Ram Rajya' and a symbol of modern India.

"Felicitations to all for the foundation laying of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Being built in tune with law, it defines India's spirit of social harmony and people's zeal. It will be a testimony to ideals of Ram Rajya and a symbol of modern India," Kovind tweeted.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other like-minded organisations worked for nearly 30 years to fulfil the resolve of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Wednesday.

Bhagwat was one of the selected invitees at the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony of a Ram temple at the site where a large number of Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

The RSS chief mentioned BJP patriarch L K Advani and the late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal among others for their contribution to the temple movement.

This day brings the confidence needed to make India self-reliant, Bhagwat told the gathering.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday also speaking at the event said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foresight and wisdom paved the way for peaceful resolution of the Ram temple issue and fulfilling the dream.

The power of Indian democracy and judiciary under the leadership of PM Modi has shown the world how solutions to problems can be found through democratic and constitutional means, he said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple.

"Prime Minister's foresight and wisdom paved the way for peaceful resolution of Ram temple issue," he said.

Yogi said people have struggled for 500 years for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is much more than a religious affair and the structure will stand as a tribute to the best of timeless human values, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday.

He also said that Lord Ram's conduct and values constitute the core of the consciousness of India, cutting across all kinds of divisions and barriers, and they are still relevant today.

In a Facebook post marking the foundation laying ceremony of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir on Wednesday, he said the construction of a temple for Lord Ram at his birthplace is more a re-coronation of the highest human values of truth, morality and ideals that the 'maryada purushottam' epitomised during his life.

"As the King of Ayodhya, he led an exemplary life, worthy of emulation by the common men and other nobles," he said.

Naidu and his wife Usha on Wednesday also recited Ramayana at the Vice President's House to mark the 'bhoomi punjan' ceremony at Ayodhya.

The family members of the vice president donated Rs 5 lakh each for the fight against COVID-19 and for the construction of Ram temple, an official statement said.

In his social media post, Naidu expressed happiness at the ceremony, saying the Ram temple will continue to remind and reinforce the ethos of the motherland which is universal in application without any discrimination.

Naidu also lauded Iqbal Ansari, son of late Hashim Ansari, one of the parties to the land title dispute, for urging the people to forget the past and move on in the true spirit of India.

His words of wisdom offer useful guidance for all, he said.

The vice president termed this day the beginning of a new era of mutual respect for all faiths and harmonious co-existence that should spur the building of an India of the dreams of every aspiring citizen of the country.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Lord Ram is the ultimate embodiment of supreme human values and can never appear in cruelty, hatred or injustice.

The former Congress president's reaction came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the 'bhoomi poojan' of a Supreme Court-mandated Ram temple in Ayodhya, bringing to fruition the BJP's 'mandir' movement that defined its politics for three decades and took it to the heights of power.

In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi said, "Maryada Purshottam Lord Ram is the ultimate embodiment of supreme human values. He is the core of humanism embedded deep in our hearts".

"Ram is love, he can never appear in hatred. Ram is compassion, he can never appear in cruelty. Ram is justice, he can never appear in injustice," he said.

Prime Minister Modi earlier performed the 'bhoomi pujan' of the Ram Mandir, bringing to end the fractious issue which went back to more than a century.

• TEMPLE FOR LORD RAM