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Modi govt must bring law to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
By demanding a new law as a way out, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has departed from an earlier narrative of awaiting for a judicial solution to the dispute.
The Narendra Modi government must bring in “appropriate and requisite law” to pave the way for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Mohan Bhagwat said on Thursday, ahead of the general elections to be held next year.
In his customary Vijayadashami speech in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, Bhagwat said the construction of the Ram Temple is necessary from the self-esteem point of view. It will also pave the way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness in the country, he said.
“People are questioning why the temple is not being built despite their chosen government being in power,” he said and added that the temple should have been built already as he urged the Supreme Court to take a decision soon.
The top court had said in September there was no need for a larger bench to review a 1994 decision related to the Ramjanmabhoomi case, whether a mosque is central to Islam, and that a bench would start hearing the land dispute case in late October.
Calling the temple a matter of national interest, he accused fundamental forces of playing communal politics by presenting newer interventions which were delaying the judicial process.
“It is in nobody’s interest to test the patience of the society without reason. Even after all kinds of evidence have affirmed that there was temple at that place, the place of Janmabhoomi is yet to be allocated. The decision regarding ownership of land should be expedited,” said Bhagwat.
Bhagwat’s demand comes at a time when Hindutva groups are mounting pressure on the Centre to ensure the speedy construction of the temple in Ayodhya at the venue believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
The chief of RSS, the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has said earlier that even opposition parties cannot oppose a temple in Ayodhya openly as the deity is revered by the country’s majority.
Bhagwat’s call sets the tone for the impending elections in five states this year and the Lok Sabha polls that follow. By demanding a new law as a way out, the RSS chief has also departed from an earlier narrative of awaiting for a judicial solution to the dispute.
BJP president Amit Shah has said that the construction of Ram Temple would start before the 2019 polls while interacting with the party workers in Telangana, a few months ago.
Throwing his weight behind the BJP, Bhagwat also urged people to vote for the party that will bring India together and not break it apart, laying to rest speculation whether the Sangh will join the campaign for the Lok Sabha next year or maintain its appearance as an apolitical outfit.
Bhagwat had made a similar appeal for removing the “anti-people” UPA government before the 2014 elections and urged swayamsevaks to bring in a new government.
He also lashed out at the “urban Maoists” and said Maoism has always been “urban” and their neo-Left doctrine is to establish an “anti-national” leadership with blind followers solely committed to them.
He said “urban Maoism” was propagating falsehood and spreading hatred in the society and that the left-wing extremist has used neglected sections of society to further its agenda. Maoist takes strength from the country’s enemies and always malign the nation wherever they go, he added.
