Indians across the world should be allowed to contribute to Ayodhya Temple: Bhandari

New York: A prominent Indian-American activist in the US has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow members of the Indian diaspora to contribute to the development of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Prem Bhandari, a community activist and also the head of Jaipur Foot USA, said that there are nearly 32 million Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin around the world and many of them would like to contribute to the development of the temple.

Bhandari appealed to Prime Minister Modi to ensure a system that enables those interested from the Indian diaspora to contribute any amount they deem fit from USD 10 to USD 100.

He added that all the money collected from the diaspora should go directly to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust.

"I am a Bhakt of Ram Lalla and I too wish to contribute to the grand temple that will be constructed. There are many others who may not be living in India but would like to donate to the temple. There must be provisions in place to ensure interested NRIs too are able to contribute," Bhandari said.

The prime minister had announced the formation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust in February.

Bhandari said not just Indians residing in India, but those who are living across the world should be able to contribute to the temple, which has tremendous religious, historic and cultural importance for Hindus around the world.

Previously, the Nakoda Bheravnath Charitable Foundation had donated Rs 1.5 crore (USD 200,882) for the COVID-19 cause.

Bhandari, who is the Chairman of the foundation's advisory board, said the Rs one crore (USD 133,949) was donated to the PM CARES Fund within a day of the fund being created in March.