President Ram Nath
Kovind on Friday donated Rs 5 lakh and one hundred towards the Ram Temple
construction at Ayodhya under the nationwide donation drive initiated by Shri Ram
Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust. Several leaders of political party and
quasi-political outfits had joined this initiative by launching regional drives
that will continue till February 27.

Govind Dev Giriji Maharaj,
co-president of the trust, along with VHP working president Alok Kumar, temple
construction committee’s chief Nripendra Mishra, and RSS leader Kulbhushan
Ahuja met the President on Friday. Kumar said, “He is the first citizen of
the country so we went to him to initiate this drive. He donated a sum of Rs 5,00,100”, reported ANI.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan also donated a sum amount of Rs 1 lakh towards the fund, reported ANI. He also tweeted
pictures and wrote in hindi, “One brick from my family shall also be
placed in the construction Lord Ram’s Temple. This is not a Ram Temple really,
is a national temple”.

BJP leader Sushil
Kumar Modi while launching the Samarpan Nidhi Sangraha Abhiyan in Patna, said,
“I hope every Hindu family in Bihar contributes towards the building of
the beautiful temple. I’m sure that whatever fund is required for the temple,
we will get it out of people’s cooperation.”

Also read: Ayodhya mosque’s foundation stone to be laid on Republic Day

When asked if followers of other religions can
donate too, he said: “Why not? But the thing is if it is a mosque, it is
expected that Muslims will be at the forefront. So, it is the Hindu community’s
responsibility that they come forward for Lord Ram’s temple. We will certainly
take cooperation from the followers of other religions too”.

Hindu households can
donate towards the temple’s construction with three types of coupons, Rs 10, Rs
100 and Rs 1000 arranged by volunteers of several organisations.

The long-standing religious dispute
over Ayodhya’s Ram temple came to an end after the Supreme Court of India ruled
the decision that the mandir belonged to Lord Ram in November 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid
the foundation stone for the temple’s construction at the site in August 2020.