Ram temple trust head tests positive for COVID-19

New Delhi, Aug 13: In a shocking incident, Ram Janmbhoomi Trust chairperson Mahant Nritya Gopaldas has tested positive for coronavirus disease.

The Uttar Pradesh government, in a statement said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken details of Mahant Gopaldas' health status. CM Adityanath has also spoken to the district magistrate of Mathura and to Dr Trehan of Medanta and requested for immediate medical attention for Mahantji at the hospital.

Adityanath has directed the district magistrate to provide all possible support for providing best possible medical attention.

Mahant Nritya Gopaldas was present at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5.

PM Modi laid the first brick for a Ram Temple at Ayodhya at the mega ceremony last Wednesday. He returned to the holy city after 29 years to participate in the "Bhoomi Pujan" or the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple, which meets a core promise of the ruling BJP.

The BJP has for years pushed for a Ram temple at the site where the 16th century Babri mosque once stood before it was razed in 1992 by activists who believed it was built on the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. The 2.77 acre site was claimed by both Hindus and Muslim until the Supreme Court last year handed it over for a Ram temple.