Flag-Hoisting in Ayodhya Confirms Temple Construction Was Incomplete During 2024 Ceremony

Ayodhya: The latest flag-hoisting at the Ram Temple on Tuesday has made it explicit that the temple construction was incomplete at the time of the elaborate consecration ceremony held in January 2024 under the Modi government. The flag was hoisted this morning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, symbolically marking the actual completion of structural works that were pending during the much-publicised ritual earlier.

On January 22, 2024, the government had asserted that the construction was fully completed when the pran pratishta was conducted. However, today’s development confirms that the work had not reached completion at that time and that the ceremony was advanced ahead of schedule.

Notably, during the 2024 inauguration, Deshabhimani had reported — with photographic evidence — that substantial portions of the temple structure, including the upper section above the sanctum sanctorum, were still incomplete. Although the approved architectural plan specifies three full floors and a completed gopuram, only one level had been constructed at the time of the ceremony. The unfinished upper section had been temporarily covered to facilitate the ritual.

Earlier, temple construction committee chairman Nripendra Mishra had publicly stated that the temple would be completed only by December 2025. Despite this declared timeline, the consecration was conducted in advance, just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, raising clear political implications.