All 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gangrape case surrendered at a Gujarat jail as the Supreme Court deadline ended today.

The Supreme Court on January 8 asked the convicts, released prematurely on Independence Day in 2022, to surrender before jail authorities by January 21. On Friday, the court refused to grant them more time.

The convicts had cited reasons such as health issues, impending surgery, marriage in the family and harvest work and sought more time to surrender.

The apex court noted that the reasons cited by applicants to seek postponement of surrender and report back to jail “have no merit”.

The consecration ceremony will be celebrated across the country and Indians abroad with special prayers and various programmes at local temples. The occasion has been hailed as a Diwali — the festivities that marked Lord Ram’s homecoming after the battle with Ravan and temples and houses have been strung with festive lighting.
PM Modi has been observing a series of strict 11-day religious rituals to prepare for the consecration ceremony at noon. He will also address the gathering on the occasion, read a statement from his office.
“The historic Pran Pratishtha ceremony will be attended by representatives of all major spiritual and religious sects of the country. People from all walks of life including representatives of various tribal communities will also attend the ceremony,” read the statement.
PM Modi will interact with labourers who have been building the Ram temple. He would also visit Kuber Tila, where the ancient temple of Lord Shiv has been restored, and offer prayers.
The 380×250 feet temple is being built in the traditional north-Indian Nagara style. Its 392 pillars, 44 doors and walls have elaborate carvings of gods and goddesses. The idol of five-year-old Lord Ram has been placed at the sanctum sanctorum. The Kuber Tila stands at the southwestern part of the complex. Near the temple is a well (Sita koop), believed to be dating back to the ancient era.
Various leaders of the BJP and its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have already been camping out at Ayodhya, which has prepared to receive over 11,000 visitors. Over the last weeks, the sleepy temple town has had an international airport and a renovated railway station. Hotels, guest houses and homestays have mushroomed, bursting it at the seams and bringing in the long awaited economic boom.
The opening of the Ram temple — which has been at the heart of a decades-long political storm — has been cold-shouldered by most Opposition parties including the Congress, Left, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which accused the BJP of gaining political mileage from religion on an election year.
The BJP has hit back, censuring all who declined the invite, including the Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Calling the parties anti-Hindu, the BJP has declared that they will get their punishment from the people at the hustings.
The event has also drawn other controversies — including the one that involves the Shankaracharyes of four premier monasteries staying away. The Puri and Joshimath Shankaracharyas have said consecration of an incomplete temple cannot be held. They have also questioned why PM Modi will be inside the sanctum sanctorum when the Shankaracharyas have been allotted seats outside. The event, they have alleged, is being given a political angle.
The building of the temple started after the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment of 2019, awarded the disputed land for a temple and asked that Muslims be given an alternate plot for a mosque. The matter, which went to court shortly after Independence, had escalated after hundreds of Karsevaks razed a 16th Century mosque on the site, believing it was built over a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today alleged that authorities in Assam are preventing him from visiting the Batadrava Satra Temple, the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva, an Assamese saint and scholar from the 15th century, in Nagaon.

Mr Gandhi questioned the restrictions imposed on him, stating, “We want to visit the temple. What crime have I committed that I cannot visit the temple?” 

“We don’t want to create any problems, we simply want to pray at the temple,” he added. 

#WATCH | Assam | On his visit to Batadrava Than, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says “We want to visit the temple (Batadrava Than). What crime have I committed that I cannot visit the temple?…” pic.twitter.com/1Y3cKs8Xn5

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2024

Yesterday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had urged Mr Gandhi to reconsider the route for his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, citing concerns about potential clashes with the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Mr Gandhi added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now decide who will visit the temple. “Only one person can enter the temple,” he said. 

Following the incident, Congress leaders and Mr Gandhi began a sit-in protest in Nagaon. 

Chief Minister Sarma yesterday stressed the need to avoid unnecessary competition between the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple and the visit to the birthplace of Srimanta Sankardeva at Batadrava. 

Mr Sarma urged Mr Gandhi to reconsider his plans, expressing concerns that conflicting events could negatively impact the image of Assam. 

“I urge Rahul Gandhi to not create a notion that there is a competition between Ram Temple and Batadrava Satra because the TV channels will be flashing Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha ceremony on one side and him visiting Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva’s birthplace on the other side. This won’t be good for Assam,” Mr Sarma stated.

The Congress has announced nationwide protests today evening, alleging “planned attacks” on the convoys of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam. Party general secretary KC Venugopal accused the Assam Chief Minister of orchestrating attacks on their convoys, properties, and leaders, labeling him as “the most corrupt chief minister in India.”

Mr Venugopal called for large-scale protests across the country, denouncing what he claimed to be an “assault on democracy” in Assam by the BJP-led government.

Yesterday, during a road show, Mr Gandhi came face-to-face with a hostile crowd at a roadside eatery in Nagaon, with slogans raised against him and placards displayed with messages like ‘Anyay Yatra’ and ‘Rakibul go back,’ referring to Samaguri Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain.