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Updated: Aug 08, 2020 02:30 IST

No one from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be a member of the trust that will oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, home minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday, dismissing media reports that he and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be part of the body that will be set up on the orders of the Supreme Court.

“I want to make two things clear: there won’t be any trustee from among BJP members and the government will not spend anything on the project. The trust will have to collect donations from the society to make it [the temple],” he said in an interview to a television channel.

The people making the temple will decide on the timeline for the completion of the project, he said. “The Supreme Court has ordered us to complete all processes [of coming up with a scheme to build the temple] within 90 days, and I believe that we will be able to do it,” Shah added.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) plans to crowd-fund Rs 100 crore for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, top functionaries of the organisation said.

The Supreme Court cleared the way for the temple’s construction on November 9 when it ruled in favour of the Hindu parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit . It said that the disputed land in Ayodhya must be given to a trust for the temple’s construction.

The functionaries cited above said that once the trust is formed, it will make a formal announcement on the fund collection exercise. The office-bearers of the trust are likely to make an appeal for crowd funding at the Sant Sammelan or gathering of saints that the VHP plans to hold during Magh Mela in Prayagraj in February 2020.

On Monday, speaking at an election rally in Jharkhand, Shah said the construction of a “sky-high” temple at Auodhya would begin in the next four months.

VHP’s working president Alok Kumar said that the purpose of crowd funding is to ensure participation of Ram devotees from across the globe. “The VHP will not make any announcement for crowd funding. Instead, the trust will issue an appeal. I will make it clear that the VHP will not collect any funds for temple construction; nor will the Parishad construct the temple. After the construction of the temple, the Parishad will neither manage the temple nor have any participation or right in the offerings made at the temple. Everything will be managed by the trust,” he said.

The Supreme Court has asked the government to set up the trust and come up with a scheme to build the temple within 90 days.

VHP vice-president Champat Rai said that every Ram devotee should have a contribution in the temple construction. He added that it was too early to reveal details of the exact financial contribution to be accepted.

“When the time comes, things will be announced. I will not commit anything right now and I appeal to all to let things take shape first,” he said.

Last Friday, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath appealed to people at an election rally in Jharkhand that every Hindu family should contribute Rs 11 and a brick for the construction of the temple.

Rai backed Adityanath’s appeal saying this will ensure the participation of every Hindu “in this much-awaited construction that holds great religious importance”.

Former VHP office bearer Puneet Verma said all Hindus should contribute to the construction and no single political party should take credit for it.

(With inputs from HTC in New Delhi)