Organisations shoot off letter to NYC mayor, request calling off Times Square ad of Ram temple

Twenty organisations and several individuals in the US have written to New York City mayor asking the authorities not to display images of Lord Ram and the Ram temple of Ayodhya at Times Square on August 5.

Hyderabad: Following the reports that the Times Square, New York City (NYC) will display images of Lord Ram and 3-D portraits of Ayodhya's Ram temple to be constructed in Uttar Pradesh on August 5, a group of twenty organisations and several individuals in the US have collectively written to the city's Mayor Bill de Blasio, opposing the move.

According to a media report, the signatories of the letter alleged that the display of the images and advertisements of the temple encourages and celebrates human rights abuses against Indian Muslims and celebrates the destruction of Babri Masjid that led top one of the worst communal violence in India.

Terming the billboards 'Islamophobic' the letter said that the group opposes far-right Hindutva sentiments of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and asked how NYC that claims to be inclusive and an advocate of equality allow 'a brazen celebration of hatred and Islamophobia'.

Hindus for Human Rights organisation and Coalition Against Fascism in India are also signatories of the letter.

On July 30, PTI reported that images of Lord Ram and 3D portraits of the Ram Temple will be beamed across the giant billboards in the iconic Times Square.

Calling the event 'once-in-the-life-of-mankind', prominent community leader and president of the American India Public Affairs Committee, Jagdish Sewhani corroborated the news.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for construction of the temple in Ayodhya.