Ayodhya: Seers Of Digambar Akhada Demand Change In Current Ram Mandir Model

A group of seers in Ayodhya have given a memorandum to local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, seeking a change in existing model of Ram Mandir.

The seers led by Mahant Suresh Das, head of Digambar Akhara, also had a discussion on the subject with the MLA on Sunday evening (31 May).

"The saints have given a memorandum, seeking construction of Ram Mandir according to a new grand design instead of existing design," said the MLA on Monday.

"They have requested me to send the memorandum to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, which I will do," he stated

Seers have also demanded that they should be consulted in the ongoing pre-Ram Mandir construction work at Ram Janambhoomi site.

Sources said that the seers were scheduled to meet Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of Sri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, to discuss the issue on Sunday but VHP leader Rajendra Singh 'Pankaj' intervened and convinced the saints not to press the issue.

Ram Vilas Vedanti, who had played a major role in raising the issue of changing existing model of Ram Mandir, was also side-lined after this.

The VHP model of the temple was approved during the Ram Mandir movement in 1990s. The model is kept for public viewing at Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya.

The saints now want the temple to be ''re-modelled'' so that it is grander and taller. They want the temple to be unparalleled in magnificence.

Pre-construction activity of Ram Mandir began at Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya on 11 May after the Centre allowed construction work across the country. Levelling of land on the Ram Janambhoomi site is going on.

The actual construction of Ram Mandir is expected to start after ''bhumi pujan'' in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be invited.

However, no date for the event has been decided so far.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)