"People of Ayodhya are fortunate...": Former litigant in Ayodhya land dispute on PM Modi's visit to Ayodhya

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 26 : After Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a formal invitation for the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the former litigant in Ayodhya land dispute, Iqbal Ansari on Thursday said that the people are fortunate to receive PM Modi here for 'Darshan'.
"Ayodhya is the land of religion - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian - deities of the entire country reside here. PM is fortunate to arrive in Ayodhya and the people of Ayodhya are fortunate too to have PM Modi here for darshan...", Ansari said while speaking to ANI.
"We too believe that PM Modi should come to Ayodhya and perform 'Pran Pratishtha'. All the priests here are fortunate to perform the rituals before PM Modi..." he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the officials of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth met PM Modi and invited him to come to Ayodhya on the occasion of the consecration of the Ram temple, which he happily accepted.
Calling it a day full of "emotions", PM Modi said that he feels "blessed" and that it is his good fortune that he will be witnessing such a historic occasion.
"Today is a day full of emotions. Recently, the officials of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust came to meet me at my residence. He has invited me to come to Ayodhya on the occasion of the consecration of Ram temple," PM Modi wrote on X (Formerly Twitter).
"I feel very blessed. It is my good fortune that, in my lifetime, I will witness this historic occasion," his post read.
Champat Rai, General Secretary of Ram Janambhoomi Trust, said on Wednesday that the idol of Lord Ram will be installed at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 next year.
"Today, along with members of the Shri Ram Janambhoomi Trust, we met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have invited him (PM Modi) to come on January 22 to install the idol of Lord Ram in the Garbhagriha. He has accepted our request. He will be present on January 22. The date for 'Pran Pratishtha' on January 22 is confirmed," Champat Rai said.
Meanwhile, Iqbal Ansari also spoke on the delayed construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, despite the Supreme Court awarding a piece of land for it.
"The question is about Ayodhya and five acres of land for Babri Masjid. The Government has allotted the land for a mosque but trustees considered it their property and no work has begun till today. People raise questions about why is the work getting delayed...People of Ayodhya say that had the trustees been honest, work would have begun. So, we demand that trustees should be monitored and the work on the mosque begin at the earliest. If the trustees are negligent, they should be replaced..." Ansari said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) secretary Athar Hussain told ANI, "The Supreme Court in its verdict awarded 5 acres of land to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque, but due to lack of funds, the construction work has not yet started".
The Supreme Court in its verdict in November 2019 had awarded 5 acres of land to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for mosque construction.
The IICF trust was set up by the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board to oversee and collect funds for the construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.
According to Hussain, the IICF trust decided to build a hospital, a community kitchen and a mosque on that 5-acre of land awarded by the apex court."In February 2023, the layout of the construction site was submitted by the Trust and was approved by the Ayodhya Development Authority, after which the Trust got an idea of the budget in which the mosque could be built," Hussain added.
Athar Hussain said that according to the layout and idea, the funds to be spent on the mosque, hospital and community kitchen were estimated at about Rs 300 crore, of which Rs 280 crore would be spent on the hospital and community kitchen.
"Thus, IICF decided that due to the lack of funds, the mosque will be constructed first and after that the hospital and community kitchen will be built," he added.
Hussain also said that they will soon visit some other cities and interact with organisations that can help them in collecting the funds so that the construction of the mosque could be started.