The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will sends its workers to 18,000 villages across Gujarat from January 15 to collect funds for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain on Friday.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Surendra Jain said that the VHP will send 40 lakh volunteers across the country to contact “65 crore Hindus living in 5.23 lakh villages” as part of the fund collection exercise.
“There are 18,556 villages in Gujarat and we will cover each one of them. Our volunteers will contact every Hindu as part of the fund-raising drive for the Ram temple,” Jain told PTI.
Surendra Jin said that the VHP has decided not to take money from the government or some selected businessmen. “The Ram temple will be built with the contribution of the entire nation,” he claimed.
A senior VHP functionary said that Govind Dholakia, founder chairman of Shree Ramkrishna Exports, a major diamond polishing company in Surat, has been appointed chairman of the VHP’s committee that will lead the fundraising campaign in Gujarat.
In August this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
(With inputs from PTI)