President, VP, CMs contribute towards Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya
New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind contributed over Rs 5 lakh for the construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya as the nationwide drive to collect donations kicked off on Friday.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's family have already contributed over Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the temple.
Earlier in the day, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat performed a puja at the Valmiki temple in the national capital.
The biggest contribution of over Rs one crore came from Surendra Bahadur Singh, former MLA of Tezgaon in Baiswara district of Rae Bareli, who donated a cheque of Rs 1,11,11,111 to Champat Rai, VHP's vice president and general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), part of the RSS-led ideological family, was at the forefront of the Ram Mandir construction movement.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra rust has mandated the VHP to collect funds for the temple's construction.
"The VHP today started its campaign for collection of funds for the construction of the temple by receiving Rs 5,00,100 from the first person of the country, President Ram Nath Kovind on his and his family's behalf," its international working President Alok Kumar told PTI.
Naidu's wife Usha Naidu has already contributed Rs 5,11,116 on behalf of the entire family for the construction of the temple.
To receive donation from the President, treasurer of the Temple Trust Govind Dev Giri, VHP's Alok Kumar, trustee of the trust and former principal secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra and RSS's Delhi leader Kulbhushan Ahuja met Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan here.
According to reports, contributions were also made by governors and chief ministers across the country.
A VHP delegation also met Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya and received Rs 1.21 lakh as donation for the construction of the temple, while state chief minister also gave Rs contributed 1.51 lakh.
Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel and Governors of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand also gave their contributions to the visiting VHP delegations.
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Congress names candidates for 8 Haryana LS seats, fields Kumari Selja, Deepender Hooda
Chandigarh (PTI): The Congress on Thursday announced candidates for eight of the nine Lok Sabha seats it is contesting in Haryana, fielding former Union minister Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda and youth leader Divyanshu Budhiraja, besides two sitting MLAs.
The party has also fielded former MP Jai Prakash and leaders Satpal Brahmachari and Mahendra Pratap, according to the list released late Thursday evening.
The Congress is contesting nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana. It has not yet announced its candidate for the Gurugram constituency.
The Aam Aadmi Party, a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, will contest the Kurukshetra seat.
Congress general secretary and former Union minister Selja will contest from the Sirsa (reserved) seat and sitting MLAs Varun Choudhary and Rao Dan Singh from the Ambala (reserved) and the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seats, respectively.
Deepender Hooda, son of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will enter the fray from Rohtak. He has represented the Rohtak parliamentary constituency three times in the past.
Jai Prakash has been fielded from Hisar, the Congress' Haryana youth wing president Divanshu Budhiraja from Karnal, Satpal Brahmachari from Sonipat and Mahendra Pratap from Faridabad.
