Muslim group prays for Ram temple construction in Ayodhya

Lucknow: A Muslim group, claiming to be pro- Ram temple, today said its members offered prayers at the Dewa Sharif Dargah in the Barabanki district seeking a "divine intervention" in the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

About 20 officer-bearers of the Shri Ram Mandir Nirman Muslim Karsewak Manch visited the Dargah, around 45 km from here, famous as the shrine of sufi saint Haji Waris Ali Shah.

"We offered prayers and sought a divine intervention for the construction of a grand temple for Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. We also offered tribute (in form of chaadars) at the shrine," Mohd Azam Khan, the president of Karsewak Manch told PTI.

Khan said the Manch is an "independent" organisation "influenced" by RSS. It is working for the past four years to gather support of the Muslim community for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, he said.

He also said if a temple is built at the place where "Lord Rama was born, we will hold bhandara (community feast) for 1,000 poor people and offer chaadars made of gold and silver."

A push for the construction of a temple is likely to gain momentum from Guru Poornima next week when sadhus gather at the Naradanand Ashram in Sitapur to chalk out a roadmap.

"Sadhus from different akhadas in UP and neighbouring states will assemble at the ashram to deliberate on the construction of a grand Ram temple," said Swami Vidya Chetanaiya Maharaj, who heads the Nardanand Ashram in Sitapur.

Guru Poornima is on July 9 and it will mark the beginning of a campaign to gather support not only of the sadhus, but also from the common public for the construction of the Ram temple, he said.

Referring to a meeting he had with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on June 27, Chetanaiya Maharaj said, "We are confident the construction of a grand Ram temple will begin well before 2019."

The 58-year-old sadhu also informed that after the Guru Poornima rituals in Naradanand Ashram, he will travel to different ashrams in the state and also in neighbouring Rajasthan, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand to elicit support for Ram temple.