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Ram mandir construction in Ayodhya on RSS’ list of utmost priority
According to functionaries aware of the developments, RSS brass has signalled affiliates to refrain from drawing attention away from the demand for Ram Temple.
Affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who are getting restive over delays in announcement of new policies in education, labour and economy, have decided not to confront the government over the delay till Ram Temple is constructed in Ayodhya.
According to functionaries aware of the developments, RSS brass has signalled affiliates to refrain from drawing attention away from the demand for Ram Temple, which has been on the top of the Sangh’s wish list for decades. The issue is poised to gain momentum ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
On Sunday, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the hardline affiliate of the RSS, which has been at the forefront of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, will hold a ‘dharma sabha’ in Ayodhya to push for the early construction of the temple.
This comes in the wake of the RSS’s decision to revive the campaign for building of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. It is also pushing the government to bring a bill in Parliament to clear the decks for building an edifice at the disputed site, where Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.
The Supreme Court’s decision last month to take up the Ayodhya temple case in January next year has accentuated RSS and VHP’s demand to seek a resolution to the problem from Parliament instead of the judiciary.
“The RSS alone has not been demanding the construction of a temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram, it is the aspiration of millions of Indians. It is an issue that is linked to Hindu sentiments and pride and now that it seems that the issue is unlikely to be resolved in a court of law anytime soon, the Sangh has decided to pitch for the construction at the earliest and till that happens, all other issues will be put on hold,” said a senior functionary. Subsequently, RSS-affiliates like Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM), Akhil Bharatiya Itihaas Sankalan Yojna and Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) that have been pushing the government to frame a new education policy and rework curriculum have decided not to embarrass the government by questioning the delay in announcements.
“The education policy is delayed, there are many fall-outs because of that. But the government has assured us that they will announce the new policy by year-end,” said a senior functionary of the BSM. The affiliates also agree that a new policy announced little before the country goes to polls in 2019 may not be implemented in time, but say they are confident that their demands will not go unheeded.
Similarly, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, which has been at loggerheads with the government for failing to protect the rights of contractual labour and generate more jobs, has also toned down their criticism. “Some of our demands have been met, so we are willing to give the government more time to address the rest of our concerns over issues such as the new labour code on occupational safety, health and working conditions, 2018,” said a BMS functionary.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had called for a new education policy, based on Indian value systems, during his lecture series held in New Delhi in September.
In the past, he has flayed the government over its economic policy for having failed to address the agrarian. It is also learnt that Bhagwat has instructed the cadre to not let the temple campaign dissipate.
“At closed door meetings with the cadre, the top leadership has underlined that the Ram temple is the only issue that needs all their time and attention now. The cadre has been instructed to draw support for the movement,” said the functionary quoted above.
