As the organising committee of the bhoomi pujan programme for the construction of Ram temple is finalising the list of invitees, it is now clear that Shiv Sena has so far failed to find a place in it but Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat is sure to share the dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the foundation-laying function in Ayodhya on August 5.
Highly placed sources said that Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust has so far not invited Shiv Sena leaders for the bhoomi pujan. Many chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states may get the invite but not Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
“Thackeray or leaders of any political parties other than the BJP are not likely to get the invite for the function,” the source said.
“The trust has prepared a list of 268 persons to be invited for the bhoomi pujan function but following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s insistence that only 200 people should be invited, some names could be dropped,” he said.
The names include BJP and RSS leaders along with the saints who participated in the Ram temple movement, including Lal Krishna Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Vinay Katiyar, Dr Ramvilas Vedanti and several others.
Mohan Bhagwat, while joining the bhoomi pujan, will also inaugurate the new office of the RSS at Saket Nilayam, which is spread over a 30,000 square feet campus.
Both PM and Bhagwat will arrive at Ayodhya on August 5, but separately.
It would be the first time that the RSS chief and PM would attend a function.
A road through which the VVIP will reach the bhoomi pujan site is being laid while other preparations are being made on a war footing.