VHP leader Praveen Togadia’s refusal to initiate an agitation on the temple issue till the Modi government is in power has irked a number of Ayodhya saints.
VHP leader Praveen Togadia’s refusal to initiate an agitation on the temple issue till the Modi government is in power has irked a number of Ayodhya saints.
The saints now want to start a public awareness campaign on the issue and the final draft of this will be prepared at the Marg Darshak Mandal meeting of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad that is scheduled to be held in the Magh Mela in Allahabad in February.
VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti clearly said that, “It appears that Dr Togadia’s statement has been given under pressure from the BJP.”
Dr Vedanti said that the saints could not afford to forget the temple issue and the Prime Minister should convene a joint session of Parliament and clear the path for the construction of Ram Temple.
“Previous governments faced the compulsion of Muslim votes but the Modi government faces no such pressure and we now want an early solution to the problem,” he said.
The chief of the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, did not directly attack Dr Togadia but said that “We have laid down our entire life for the Ram Temple and the temple must be constructed without doubt. We may not launch an agitation against the Modi government but we do need to create public awareness so that pressure can be mounted on the centre and the judiciary for an early solution.”
Another saint, who did not wish to be named, said that the VHP leader’s statement had left “Ram Bhakts” severely disappointed.
“Almost two years have passed and no visible steps have been taken to resolve the issue. The only government that made serious efforts to solve the issue was the Chandra Shekhar government. If we sit quietly, the temple issue will not be resolved in our life time. We have to mount pressure on the government and the BJP, this time, enjoys a majority so there is no excuse as such,” he said.
Interestingly, VHP spokesperson Sharad Sharma said that the Ayodhya Act 1993 must be repealed at the earliest. He said that the Congress government had got the Act passed to keep the dispute alive. The Acquisition of Certain Areas at Ayodhya Ordinance, 1993, bars the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)-controlled Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas from acquiring any portion of land at Ayodhya — not even any undisputed portion. The Marg Darshak Mandal meeting in Allahabad in February is expected to draw up a detailed programme for building up public opinion on the issue of Ram Temple in Ayodhya and various programmes are being planned for the same. “This will not be an agitation as such but we will revive public support on the issue,” said a saint.
