Gorakhpur (UP), Jul 29 (PTI) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Wednesday collected soil from the Gorakhnath temple for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, a VHP leader said here.

"The sacred soil of the Gorakhnath temple will be put in the foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. We have taken the soil," Durgesh Tripathi, Sah Prant Sanyojak of the VHP, said.

Also Read | Rajasthan Congress Chief Govind Singh Dotasra Responds to Sachin Pilot's Congratulatory Tweet: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on July 29, 2020.

The 'bhumi pujan' or groundbreaking ceremony for the temple is slated for August 5.

He said VHP's Mahanagar convener Ashok Gupta has been given the responsibility of appealing to people to do 'bhajan kirtan' on August 3 and 4 and light earthen candles on August 5 at their homes.

Also Read | Rajasthan Political Crisis: Ashok Gehlot Govt Sends Fourth Proposal to Governor Kalraj Mishra For Assembly Session.

Mahant Avaidyanath, who was the head priest of the Gorakhnath temple, played a leading role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and founded the Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Mukti Yagna Samiti (committee of sacrifice to liberate Ram's birthplace) in 1984.

He was also linked to the Hindu Mahasabha and later represented the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency four times as a Bharatiya Janata Party MP.

Avaidyanath, who also the guru of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, died in 2014.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)