Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli are among the celebrity names on the 7,000-strong invitee list for the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The Ram temple trust has invited 7,000 people — the business sector would be represented by industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, sources told the Press Trust of India. Former Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata is also on the invitee list.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and yoga guru Ramdev are invited, as are actors Arun Govil and Dipika Chikhlia, who played the roles of Lord Ram and Devi Sita in the famous TV serial Ramayan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already been invited to the ceremony, scheduled for January 22, 2024. Modi was central to the temple’s foundation stone laying ceremony in August 2020.
The guest list of 7,000 consists of 3,000 VVIPs, including those mentioned above, and 4,000 seers from across the country. The VVIPs will get entry through bar code passes.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai said, “Efforts are being made to invite one representative each from 50 countries for the consecration ceremony. Family members of the 50 kar sevaks who lost their lives during the Ram temple movement have also been invited. Invitations have also been sent to judges, scientists, writers, and poets.”
Former civil servants, retired Indian Army officers, lawyers, musicians, and Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardees have been invited.
Idols at the Ram temple
About the deities at the new Ram temple, Champat Rai said, “Ramlala will be seated in the Ram temple as a 5-year-old boy. For this, three idols are being carved from two rocks — one each from Karnataka and Rajasthan. The idols are 90 per cent ready and are being given the final touches. The most attractive idol will be selected for the consecration.”
Vishva Hindu Parishad spokesperson Sharad Sharma said, “We have also invited journalists who supported the Ram temple movement through their newspapers, writings, and reporting. Without them, this struggle for the Ram temple would have been incomplete.”
