×

Ram mandir trust to be autonomous; to have 15 members, including a dalit: Shah

Former BJP ally Shiv Sena welcomes formation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra

Representational image of Ayodhya | Reuters

The trust to be set up by the Centre to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya's disputed land will be autonomous and will comprise 15 trustees, of which one will be a dalit. "There will be 15 trustees in Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust out of which one trustee will always be from Dalit society," tweeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he thanked PM Narendra Modi for the decision. 

The trust will also be an independent body, capable of taking all decisions regarding the construction of the temple, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "Thank you to Modiji for setting up an autonomous trust to build a grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Shri Ram.The 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust will be completely independent and capable of taking all decisions related to temple construction. Jai Shree Ram!" Adityanath tweeted thanking the Narendra Modi government for taking a step closer to building the temple. 

The Centre's decision regarding Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra trust was announced by PM Modi in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Announcing the trust, PM Modi said the trust will take over the disputed 67.703 acres of land and has an inside and outside courtyard. He also informed the Uttar Pradesh government has given its approval for 5 acres to be alloted to Sunni Waqf Board, as ordered by the Supreme Court. 

Ending a more than two decade-long land dispute in Ayodhya's Ram Janmanbhoomi, the apex court had on November 9 last year ordered that the disputed land at Ayodhya must be given to a trust for construction of a Ram temple and ordered the Central government to formulate a scheme within three months. The three-month deadline was nearing its deadline on February 9. 

However, the Congress has questioned the timing of the announcement, linking it to the forthcoming Delhi assembly elections. Interestingly, the Shiv Sena, BJP former ally in Maharashtra, was one of the first parties to respond to the setting up of the trust. It welcomed the Modi government's decision. The Shiv Sena is currently a Congress-NCP ally in Maharashtra where it is running a government with Udhhav Thackeray as the chief minister.