President Kovind donates Rs. 5L for Ayodhya Ram Mandir construction
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday donated an amount of Rs. 5,00,100 in his personal capacity toward the construction of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. He made the contribution to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerath Kshetra Trust, constituted to look after the temple's construction and management. The Trust has launched a countrywide donation drive that will continue until February 27. Here's more.
The Trust's Co-President and Treasurer, Govind Dev Giriji Maharaj, met President Kovind and collected the cheque for Rs. 5,00,100. He was accompanied by VHP's International Working President Alok Kumar, Temple Construction Committee's chief Nripendra Mishra, and RSS leader Kulbhushan Ahuja. "He is the first citizen of the country, so we went to him to initiate this drive," Kumar was quoted as saying by ANI.
Notably, the nationwide donation drive for the Ram Temple began on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti (January 14) and will come to an end on Magh Purnima on February 27. Under this campaign, voluntary contributions from people across India will be accepted and coupons of Rs. 10, Rs. 100, and Rs. 1,000 denominations will be available for making donations toward the temple construction.
Several political leaders and heads of quasi-political organizations have also made contributions to the Ram Mandir construction and launched donation drives at the regional level, too. Interestingly, the Trust decided not to accept government funds, corporate donations, or funds from abroad for this cause.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan donated an amount of Rs. 1 lakh as a contribution toward the Ram Mandir construction fund. "One brick from my family shall also be placed in the construction of Lord Ram's Temple. This is not a Ram Temple, really this is a national temple," he tweeted in Hindi along with photos of him handing over the cheque.
On the other hand, in Patna, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has launched the Samarpan Nidhi Sangraha Abhiyan for collecting the temple construction fund. He said, "I hope every Hindu family in Bihar contributes toward the building of the beautiful temple. I'm sure that whatever fund is required for the temple, we will get it out of people's cooperation."
Modi further said followers of other religions can also contribute to the temple fund. "But the thing is if it is a mosque, it is expected that Muslims will be at the forefront. So, it is the Hindu community's responsibility that they come forward for Lord Ram's temple," he said. "We will certainly take cooperation from the followers of other religions too," added Modi.
According to the Trust's estimates, the total cost of building the Ram Mandir complex will be around Rs. 1,100 crore, including Rs. 300-400 crore for the temple alone. It will be built to sustain earthquakes, storms, and other natural calamities. To recall, PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the temple construction at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya on August 5, 2020.
