Ayodhya Ram Mandir: From LK Advani To Uma Bharti, Top BJP Leaders Of Ram Janmabhoomi Movement

Veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani skipped the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Monday due to extreme cold weather conditions there.

The 96-year-old former Deputy PM of India is one of the most prominent leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement and played a key role in the events that led to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

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LK Advani

Most famously, in 1990 Advani delivered the 'Mandir Wahin Banayenge' speech, which went on to become the slogan of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement.

In the speech, Advani defied calls by then-Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, who asked him to cancel his march towards Ayodhya and also challenged the court asking "if the court can decide whether Ram was born in Ayodhya or not."

On September 25, 1990, Advani launched his Rath Yatra to Ayodhya, from Somnath.

The yatra could not reach Ayodhya and ended in Bihar after Advani was arrested.

But his speech and the Rath Yatra are widely believed to the trigger that led to the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

Murli Manohar Joshi

Like Advani, another veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, was also invited to the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The 90-year-old also did not attend the Pran Pratishtha, due to his age.

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Joshi also played a key role in the events that resulted in the demolition of Babri Masjid. While he along with other BJP leaders was charged in the demolition of Babri Masjid cases, they were acquitted in 2020.

Uma Bharti

Firebrand BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti was one of the top leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement.

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Unapologetic about her role in the Babri Masjid demolition, she has termed it one of the proudest moments of her life.

"I do not consider mosque razing to be a criminal activity, she had said, while claiming that she don't know who demolished the structure.

Sadhvi Rithambara

Sadhvi Rithambara, the founder-chairperson of Durga Vahini is also a key figure in the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement. She was present at the complex when the Babri Masjid was demolished.?

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The Liberhan Commission had held Sadhvi Ritambhara along with sixty-eight others individually culpable for leading the country "to the brink of communal discord" for their role in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on 6 December 1992.

Kalyan Singh

BJP leader Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in December 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished.

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As the CM, Singh had given an assurance to the Supreme Court that no harm would come to the Babri Masjid. But on December 6, 1992, when karsevaks attacked Babri Masjid he failed to act against them and in fact, directed the police not to act against them. His government was dismissed the same day.

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