NEW DELHI: The construction of a grand Hindu temple at holy site bitterly contested with Muslims moved a step closer Wednesday when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said a trust had been finalised to oversee the project. Modi announced in parliament, to applause and chants of “Hail Lord Ram” from party supporters, that the trust has now been set up. “Let us all support the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” Modi said, referring to the deity it will be named after. The temple construction had been a campaign pledge of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) even before the mosque’s demolition in 1992. For critics, the temple construction forms part of Modi’s alleged master plan to remould the country as a Hindu nation, something he denies.

Source: New Strait Times February 05, 2020 12:22 UTC