New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on January 22 – a historic day for the nation.

“I feel very blessed. It is my good fortune that in my lifetime, I will witness this historic occasion,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

“Today is a day full of emotions. Recently the officials of Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra had come to meet me at my residence. They invited me to come to Ayodhya on the occasion of consecration of Shri Ram temple,” PM Modi said in the post in Hindi, along with a photo of the temple trust’s functionaries.

जय सियाराम!

आज का दिन बहुत भावनाओं से भरा हुआ है। अभी श्रीराम जन्मभूमि तीर्थ क्षेत्र ट्रस्ट के पदाधिकारी मुझसे मेरे निवास स्थान पर मिलने आए थे। उन्होंने मुझे श्रीराम मंदिर में प्राण-प्रतिष्ठा के अवसर पर अयोध्या आने के लिए निमंत्रित किया है।

मैं खुद को बहुत धन्य महसूस कर रहा… pic.twitter.com/rc801AraIn

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 25, 2023

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Trust Champat Rai confirmed that the idol of Lord Ram will be installed at the temple on January 22, and PM Modi has accepted their invitation.

The trust plans to invite over 25,000 Hindu religious leaders from 136 Sanatana traditions for the consecration ceremony. In addition to the 25,000 saints who will attend the consecration ceremony, there will also be 10,000 “special guests.”

The Supreme Court in a verdict in November 2019 paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple. The centre then set up the Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra to take decisions during the construction phase.

The work on the temple has been progressing at a steady pace under the supervision of the trust. The idol of Ram Lalla will be in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

The foundation stone for the temple was laid by PM Modi on August 5, 2020.

Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the BJP’s ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) yesterday asked people across the country to organise programmes at temples to celebrate the occasion.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered officials to beautify Ayodhya and provide state-of-the-art urban amenities ahead of the inauguration.