Swami Shankaracharya says Ram temple construction to begin Feb 21, ready to `face bullets'
Allahabad, Jan 30: Religious leader Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati Wednesday said a ceremony to mark the start of construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya will take place on February 21, even if those gathering there have to face bullets.
The date for the planned ceremony, akin to a shilanyas', was announced at the end of a three-day congregation of seers at the Kumbh Mela here.
The announcement comes a day after the Centre filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking permission to transfer surplus land adjacent to the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site to its original owners.
The dharamadesh' (edict) issued by the Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya after the `Dharam Sansad' urged Hindus to reach Ayodhya carrying four bricks each.
The planned ceremony is being called ishtika nyas', or the laying of bricks.
The Shankaracharya said the sadhus will begin their march to Ayodhya from Allahabad after Basant Panchami, which falls on February 10.
He said they were ready to face bullets.
The Shankaracharya criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government for not bringing legislation to enable the construction of the temple, even though it had an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha.
The seer said the government demonstrated this majority when a bill to provide reservation in government jobs and educational institutes for the economically weaker sections was passed in Parliament.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also planned a two-day Dharam Sansad in Allahabad, beginning Thursday.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
