No One Here Is As Close To Joshi Ji As Me, Requested Him To Not Come Owing To Cold And His Age: Champat Rai

The Ram Temple Trust's general secretary, Champat Rai, has announced on Monday (18 December) that BJP veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, who led the Ram Temple movement in the early 1990s, have been asked to refrain from attending the temple's consecration ceremony in Ayodhya next month due to their old age.

"Rai, as quoted by the news agency PTI and reported by Hindustan Times, stated that both family elders were asked not to attend due to their age, a request that both accepted."

Advani, aged 96, is one of the founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He initiated the Ram Rath Yatra in 1990, a journey from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya, to advocate for his party's call for the construction of a temple.

Murli Manohar Joshi, also a founding member of the BJP, is set to celebrate his 90th birthday next month.

Meanwhile, the ceremony scheduled for 22 January will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A total of 6,200 invitees, consisting of 4,000 saints and 2,200 additional guests, have been called to attend. This includes leaders of prominent temples such as Kashi Vishwanath and Vaishno Devi.