In Photos: Preparations Underway As Ayodhya Gears Up For Ram Temple Inauguration
Many Opposition parties, including the Congress, have declined the invitation to be part of the ceremony.
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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a cleanliness drive in Ayodhya, on Sunday, 14 January.
(Photo: PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flags off e-autos for easy movement of devotees and common people ahead of the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple, in Ayodhya, on Sunday, 14 January.
(Photo: PTI)
A worker paints the railing of a bridge ahead of the consecration of Ram Temple, in Ayodhya, on Saturday, 13 January.
(Photo: PTI)
Children from Andhra Pradesh visits to the Ram Temple premises, in Ayodhya, on Saturday, 13 January.
(Photo: PTI)
Devotees take part in a padyatra, taken out from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, as it passes through Lucknow, on Saturday, 13 January.
(Photo: PTI/Nand Kumar)
Devotees take part in a padyatra, taken out from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, as it passes through Lucknow, on Saturday, 13 January.
(Photo: PTI/Nand Kumar)
Artisans create murals to decorate buildings located along the Ram Path ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, in Ayodhya, on Thursday, 11 January.
(Photo: PTI)
truck carrying a 108-feet long incense stick for Shri Ram Janambhoomi Temple on its way to the temple ahead of the consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya, on Thursday, 11 January.
(Photo: PTI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with the President of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Mahant Shri Nritya Gopal Das Ji Maharaj, in Ayodhya.
(Photo: PTI)
Devotees take part in a padyatra, taken out from Vadnagar in Gujarat to Ayodhya in UP, as it passes through Lucknow, on Tuesday, 9 January.
(Photo: PTI/Nand Kumar)
Members of the Hindu American community during a religious procession in view of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, in Houston, USA, on Sunday, 7 January.
(Photo: PTI)
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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