Ayodhya: The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, the trust responsible for overseeing construction of the mosque on the 5-acre land in Ayodhya, on Saturday said they will invite Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the foundation-laying ceremony of public utility facilities to be developed alongside the mosque at Dhannipur village in the district.

The Trust said as per Islam, foundation stone laying is not done for construction of a mosque, so there is no question of calling the Chief Minister for that, but he will be invited for inauguration of four other facilities, including a hospital and a library, on the same plot. The development comes three days after Adityanath said that if invited for the inauguration of the mosque in Ayodhya, set to be built as part of the Supreme Court’s order last year, he will not go there “as a yogi” and “as a Hindu”, and that he knows no one will invite him.

On Saturday, Athar Hussain, secretary and spokesperson of Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, said a community kitchen, hospital, research centre (focussing on Indo-Islamic culture) and a publishing house will be built along with the mosque. “There is no foundation-laying ceremony for a mosque. But since we are developing public utility facilities there as well, we will definitely invite him (Adityanath), because he is CM of the people, and it is his priority to oversee public welfare through such facilities,” he said. Hussain said that there is no provision for laying the foundation stone for a mosque in the four schools of thought in Islam: Hanafi, Hanbali, Shafi and Maliki.

Hussain also said that the Trust hopes Adityanath will contributes financially for construction of the facilities. “Since we are building public facilities, we expect that the Chief Minister will contribute,” he said. After the bhoomi pujan for the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, Adityanath had told ABP News channel, “If you ask me as a chief minister, I have no problem with any belief, religion or community. If you ask me as a yogi, I will definitely not go because as a Hindu I have the right to follow my way of worship and act accordingly.” He had also said, “I am neither a petitioner nor a respondent. That is why neither will I be invited, nor will I go. I know that I will not get any such invitation.”

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

₹ 10 - ₹ 1000

NYOOOZ FRIEND

₹ 2000 - ₹ 5000

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.