‘CEO selection to take time; faith of devotees remains unwavering’: Ram Temple Trust

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust held its second meeting in Ayodhya on Wednesday and reviewed temple administration matters, donation management, security arrangements and future governance plans as the probe in the alleged donation theft case continues. The trust has received 5,200 applications for the post of CEO and has hence deferred the appointment by a month to allow the selection committee more time to scrutinise the applications.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri said the trust had received 5,200 applications for the CEO post. “A total of 5,200 applications have been received for the Ram Temple Trust CEO post. Considering the volume of applications, the selection committee sought one month’s additional time, which has been approved by the Trust.”

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Permanent institute to be established for training priests

Giri further said that the trust had decided to establish a permanent institute for training priests. “We have decided to set up a permanent institute for training priests, who would be certified by the Ram temple trust,” Giri said.

He added that the trust would appoint a secretary on an interim basis to meet its growing administrative requirements until the CEO were selected.

Interim general secretary Krishna Mohan said the trust is still awaiting the report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged donation theft case.

“There was no discussion on the appointment of the CEO as the SIT report has not been received yet,” Krishna Mohan said.

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Committee to oversee religious affairs of Ram Temple

The trust also announced the formation of a permanent committee to oversee the religious affairs of the Ram temple. Giri said the committee will comprise nine saints, including five from Ayodhya and four from outside, to supervise the temple’s religious activities.

The committee includes Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati, Swami Vishwaprasannatirtha Ji Maharaj, Swami Dinendra Das Ji, Swami Kamalnayan Das Ji, Mahant Rajkumar Das Ji, Swami Ramanand Das Ji and Mithilesh Nandini Sharan Ji, among others.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Swami Govind Dev Giri said the temple belongs to Ayodhya and its religious affairs should be guided by the city’s saints. “The entire religious work of the temple will be carried out by the Dharmik Samiti. The decisions of Ayodhya’s saints will be paramount,” he said.

The committee will oversee the temple rituals, decide the dates for annual religious observances, supervise the training of priests and work towards establishing a dedicated institution for training archakas.

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‘Number of devotees visiting Ram Temple remains unchanged'

“Despite all the propaganda and exaggerated allegations, the number of devotees visiting the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple remains unchanged. This is proof that the faith and belief of millions of Ram devotees remains unwavering despite baseless, false, and misleading allegations,” Krishna Mohan added.

Considering the need for continued communication with the society through the media, the Trust has decided to appoint a spokesperson.

Krishna Mohan will continue as the interim general secretary until further decisions are taken.

The Trust has also decided to appoint an official spokesperson to ensure better communication with devotees and the public. The process of filling vacant trustee positions would take a few more weeks, it added.

The next meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust is scheduled to be held on September 2.