Preparations are in full swing as the consecration date of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya inches closer. The Pran Pratishtha ceremony for the temple is scheduled to begin on 16 January, a week prior to the main event on 22 January.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be presiding over the ceremonial installation of the idol Lord Rama during the ceremony.
However, many Opposition parties, including the Congress, have declined the invitation to be part of the ceremony. Additionally, four Shankaracharyas, or the pontiffs of the four mutts, have also said they will not be the part of the temple inauguration ceremony.
"The Shankaracharyas uphold their own dignity. This is not about ego. Are we expected to merely sit outside and applaud when the Prime Minister installs the idol of Ram Lalla? The presence of a 'secular' government does not imply the obliteration of tradition," Swami Nischalanand Saraswati Maharaj, the Shankaracharya of Puri dham said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
Follow our coverage on the Ram temple ceremony in Ayodhya here.
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