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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India has agreed already to drop its tariffs to nothing: President Trump
New York/Washington, May 7 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has “agreed” to drop its high tariffs “to nothing”.
“I mean, India as an example, has one of the highest tariffs in the world. We’re not going to put up with that, and they’ve agreed already to drop it. They’ll drop it to nothing. They’ve already agreed. They would have never done that for anybody else but me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters as they met in the Oval Office to discuss the US-Canada trade.
“So we’re going to put down some numbers and we’re going to say our country is open for business and they’re going to come in and they’re going to pay for the privilege of being able to shop in the United States of America. It’s very simple. It’s very simple,” he added.
In the past, Trump has called India “tariff king” and a “big abuser”.
Last month, Trump had said that negotiations with India over a bilateral trade deal are “coming along great” and he thinks “we’ll have a deal with India”.
