NEW DELHI / LUCKNOW: UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath donated Rs 2 lakh for construction of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya on the inaugural day of the funds-raising drive of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which kicked off its campaign by meeting President Ram Nath Kovind, who donated Rs Rs 5,00,100. Various temple-related bodies, including RSS and its subsidiary organisations, launched a massive countrywide campaign seeking funds for the construction.
Kovind made the donation to a delegation of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which visited him at 11 am on Friday.
Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri, VHP working president Alok Kumar, construction committee chairperson Nripendra Misra and Delhi region RSS chief Kulbhushan Ahuja were part of the delegation.
“Since President is the first citizen of the country, we called on him to seek his blessings for construction of the temple,” said Alok Kumar. The VHP functionary said temple construction is a religious and spiritual affair. The President was accompanied by his entire family when he made the offering to the delegation.
The CM handed over a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to a VHP delegation led by Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, who later met governor Anandi Ben Patel and informed her about the campaign. The VHP delegation included working president Alok Kumar, chairman of temple construction committee, Nripendra Mishra and RSS leader Kulbhushan Ahuja.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat too announced that Sangh would contribute its bit in the funds collection drive even as peethadheeshwar of Juna Akhara Awdheshanand Giri reached out to Dalit community in Lalganj Sewa Basti in Nagpur.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, several state governors, chief ministers of BJPgoverned states also made contributions for the temple construction.
After the SC verdict clearing the way for the construction of Ram Mandir, leaders of the temple campaign had said that the construction cost will be borne by the people of the country for which a campaign will be launched, which will also ensure participation of the entire nation.
The biggest contribution so far has come from an ex-MLA from Rae Bareli, Surendra Singh, who on Friday donated Rs 1,11,11111(Rs one crore, eleven lakh, eleven thousand, one hundred eleven). Trust spokesperson and senior VHP functionary Champat Rai went to Rae Bareli to collect the cheque from the former MLA.
VHP national spokesperson, Vinod Bansal told TOI the organisation met various dignitaries in the capitals of various states. In Uttarakhand, a delegation of VHP led by national secretary Ashok Tewari met governor Devi Rani Maurya, who donated Rs 1,21,000 for the cause.