The consecration of the grand and divine Ram temple being built in Ayodhya is to take place on January 22, 2024. Amid this it has come to the fore from the media reports that Mohit Pandey, a resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has been selected as the chief priest of the Ram temple. Several media outlets reported that applications from 3000 priests were accepted, from which 50 were chosen, Mohit Pandey’s name was among them, and he was chosen as the chief priest. He has been a student of Dudheshwar Ved Vidyapeeth.
However, Kameshwar Chaupal, a member of ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ Trust, has termed these reports as wrong through a Facebook post. He said that no chief priest had been appointed for the Shri Ramjanmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. He also requested that people not pay attention to false news. Kameshwar Chaupal told OpIndia that Satyendra Das is the priest of the Ram temple and that no new priest has been appointed.
He stated that no chief priest had been named. According to Kameshwar Chaupal, 21 people were chosen following the interview. They have yet to receive 6 months of training. Following that, the decision will be made on the basis of merit. Satyendra Das, according to Kameshwar Chaupal, is indeed elderly, but he is currently performing the duties of chief priest, and no one has been named as his successor.
Champat Rai, General Secretary of the ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ Trust, also spoke to OpIndia about Mohit Pandey’s appointment as chief priest. He stated that why believe in social media reports that continue to operate under any name and can use anyone’s name? He said that whoever wants to can use his name.
It is notable that Satyendra Das has served as the chief priest of the Ram temple for the past 32 years. He has been worshipping Ram lalla in the makeshift temple. He was appointed nine months before the Babri structure was demolished in December 1992. He had said that while worshiping, he felt that one day a temple of Ram Lalla would be built. Notably, Ram Lalla will remain in the tent where he has been for years until the consecration. Satyendra Das was initially paid Rs 100 per month, but this was later increased to Rs 13,000 per month.
Satyendra Das has been a teacher by profession and he continued to run the household through this job. His name was decided by former BJP MP Vinay Katiyar and former VHP chief Ashok Singhal. He had good relations with Hindu leaders. He was also included among the Bairagis who had installed the statue of Ram Lalla in Ram Janmabhoomi in 1949. He left home in 1958, took the degree of Acharya in 1975 and the very next year he became a Sanskrit teacher. Even at the time of Babri demolition, he was with Ram Lalla and had taken the idol safe away from the then situation.
