Ayodhya gears up for unrest, VHP, Shiv Sena to take up Ram temple issue

Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya is headed for a tense weekend with two major events to push for the construction of Ram temple slated for Sunday.

Faizabad district administration has imposed prohibitory orders (Section 144) in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Majid premises, a senior officer said.

The first event will be by the Shiv Sena, whose chief Uddhav Thackrey will be in Ayodhya today for a two-day visit. The Sena chief will offer prayers at the Ram janmabhoomi, participate in the aarti and will speak to saints and people there. Thackrey is also carrying a pot full of soil from the Shivneri fort in Pune, which will be handed to over the priest at the janmabhoomi.

The other and bigger event will be a “dharna sansad” organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday. The VHP claims that it will be the biggest congregation of saints and supporters of the Ram temple since 1992 when the Babri Masjid was razed. The agenda is to discuss the way forward for the construction of the Ram temple, the right-wing organisation said. The VHP has been mobilising support for its big event through bike rallies and processions across UP in the last few days.

From top to several mid-level police officers, 160 inspectors, 700 constables, 42 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), five companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) commandos and drone cameras have been deployed in Ayodhya. There is a CRPF ring around the disputed site, the government has assured.