Early Diwali in Ayodhya as PM Modi lays foundation stone of Ram Temple

While, Advani could not attend the ceremony on Wednesday owing to the Covid-19 protocols, Modi marked the fulfillment of one of the BJP's most prominent electoral promises

Dressed in a white dhoti and gamcha, octogenarian Jagannath Das was effusive in his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “actualising the centuries-old Ram temple dream” and reassuring people about his leadership qualities.

“The people of Ayodhya have been celebrating Diwali over the past few days in the run up to the groundbreaking ceremony of the temple,” Das, an ascetic, said on Wednesday, while taking a stroll on the banks of Saryu river, which is flowing above the danger mark owing  to monsoon.

His sentiments are echoed by a majority of locals across the economic, age and gender divides,