Lucknow: Mahant Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chavni, on Tuesday, began an indefinite fast to mount pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the date for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Mahant sat on dharna outside the Tapasvi Chavni  and said that he was ready to lay down his life for the sake of the temple.

A number of saints led by the chief priest of the makeshift Ram temple, Acharya Satyendra Das, Dilipdas Tyagi , head of Raghuvansh Sankalp Sewa Trust, Acharya Narain Misra  of Ram Janambhoomi coordination committee and Sant Karpatri, joined the dharna. The saints said that the Modi government was fully capable of making a law for the Ram temple. “Governm-ent has a few months left and it is time for taking steps for construction for the Ram temple. If the government does not declare the date for temple construction, the fast will continue,” said the Mahant, asking if Modi can make laws on other issues, why not Ram temple?

The Mahant said that he had no issues with Muslims and all he wanted was the construction of the Ram temple. “In fact, I would request our Muslim brothers to cooperate in the temple construction,” he added.