1 / 12Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday offered prayers and laid the foundation stone for a grand temple at the site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya. 2 / 12The groundbreaking ceremony marks the formal launch of the temple’s construction promised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party nearly three decades earlier.3 / 12LK Advani, 92, and Murli Manohar Joshi, 86, the two BJP stalwarts who had led the campaign to build the temple in its early days, are said to have watched the live telecast of the event because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister placed the stone and bowed on the ground there. PM Modi laid the foundation stone.4 / 12Home Minister Amit Shah, from his bed in a Gurugram hospital where the 55-year-old top BJP leader was admitted last week due to the virus.5 / 12Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat were also present at the Bhoomi Pujan function. The priests started the bhumi pujan with chanting and then the bhumi pujan was completed with Modi laying the foundation stone for the construction of the temple.6 / 12During the program, nine stones were worshiped and Modi applied tilak on his forehead from the soil of the temple foundation. Earlier, Modi reached Ayodhya by helicopter where he was received by the Chief Minister.7 / 12Before Bhumi Pujan, Modi reached the temple at Hanumangarhi and sought blessings from Hanuman ji for the construction of Ram temple.8 / 12After worshiping in the temple for some time, Modi left for Ram Janmabhoomi area and after reaching there, he bowed to Lord Rama. This was followed by Bhoomi Pujan ceremony.9 / 12UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that after five centuries, today the resolution of 135 crore Indians is being fulfilled. The temple is being constructed in the country along with democratic methods. 10 / 12Dressed in the traditional kurta and dhoti, PM Modi offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple soon after landing in the riverside town of Ayodhya from Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow.11 / 12PM Modi used silver bricks during the rituals. But for the foundation stone, bricks donated by devouts from across the world in 1989 would be used. “There are 275,000 such bricks out of which 100 bricks with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ engraving have been taken,” the priest said as the vedic rituals, which have continued for three days, were coming to an end.12 / 12Only 175 guests have been invited. Among them are Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the ruling BJP’s ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.