Centre Donates Re 1 And Sets The Ball Rolling For The Construction Of The Ram Mandir 

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the cabinet had officially approved the creation of the Ram Mandir trust, the centre has set the ball rolling by making a token donation of Re 1.

The government made a cash donation of Re 1 to the newly constituted trust that was registered on Wednesday (6 February 2020). As reported by the Times of India, the donation was made by D Murmu, an undersecretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, on behalf of the government.

This sets the ball rolling for contributions to the trust which will accept donations, grants, aid in both cash and in kind and with no conditions whatsoever, as reported.

The possession of the trust named 'Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra' was handed over to senior advocate K Parasaran, who was the lead counsel for Ram Lalla in the Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute case. The trust will function at present from the residence of Parasaran, who has also been made a trustee.

The trust will be an autonomous body and as tweeted by the Union Home Minister, will have 15 members on board, including one Dalit representative.

The trust will be in charge of the entire stretch of 67 acres of land allotted to the Ram Mandir, by the landmark judgement that was delivered three months ago on 9 November 2019.

The announcement came three days before the Supreme Court’s three-month deadline, by when it sought that the government put in place a scheme that provides for the setup of a trust, its functioning, the powers of the members and other matters pertaining to the transfer of land and construction of the temple.

The judgement drew curtains on the over 400-year-old Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid land dispute, in which the Supreme Court allotted the disputed land for the construction of the temple, and directed that an alternate 5-acre plot be given to the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction of a new mosque.

The announcement of the trust was lauded across the political spectrum, including the opposition, except a few who raised the issue of its timing as being one to influence the course of the Delhi elections.

But protests were held against the non-inclusion of Sadhus who led the Ram Mandir drive in Ayodhya led by the president of VHP-run Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas, Nritya Gopal Das against the treatment meted out to those who had “sacrificed their lives for the temple movement”.

Attempts to pacify the mahant were said to have initially failed with Das calling for a press meet which was then canceled after his conversation with Home Minister Amit Shah. He will now be made a member as three posts are yet to be filled, say reports.

As per the trust deed, all members of the trust, including the IAS officers who will be nominated by the government will have to be Hindus.

At present, Dalit leader from Bihar Kameshwar Chaupal who was among the first to lay the foundation stone for Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in 1989 is one of the members, along with former Ayodhya royal Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra and Udupi Pejawar Math seer Swami Vishwa Prasannateertha, among others.