Lucknow: In a setback to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Param Dharm Sansad has opposed installation of a Lord Ram statue in Ayodhya and called the move ‘inappropriate’.
On the second day of Dharm Sansad in Varanasi, the Ram Mandir issue was discussed at length, but Hindu seers rejected the Adityanath government’s proposal to install a 221-metre statue on the bank of the Saryu.
The seers unanimously said that installation of Lord Ram’s statue would be against their faith.
They also suggested that statues of great men and women had been put up across the country whereas Ram was their lord and a grand temple should be built at the disputed site so that ‘puja’ could be performed.
Speaking to News18, Swami Avimukteshwaranand said, “the idol of Lord Ram can only be installed after ‘pran pratishtha’ following which ‘puja’ can be performed.”
On Sunday, Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati hit out at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), saying its Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya was purely political.
“We want Lord Ram temple should be built without disturbing communal harmony. We do not want any dispute with anyone. The Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya by the VHP was purely political. They want to build a memorial while we want to build a place for worship. Our existence is not based on hatred for Muslims. Those, who are organising Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya, are political people,” he said.
The Uttar Pradesh government has said it will install a 221-metre bronze statue of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. Unveiling details of the proposed structure, Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary (Information) Avanish Awasthi said the statue would be 151-metre high and would be put on a 50-metre high pedestal.
There would be a head cover (chhatra) for the grand statue that would be another 20 metre, taking the total height to 221 metres.
Awasthi added that five firms, which were shortlisted for construction of the statue, gave presentations to Adityanath on Saturday evening, adding that soil testing was being done to find a suitable place.
The state government also plans to construct a guest house, a ground, Ram ‘kuti’, the Gurukul Saryu riverfront and beautify the ‘ghats’.