Ram temple and Narendra Modi were the focus of the Sangh Parivar’s Dharam Sansad at the Kumbh mela here on Thursday.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants a government that will ensure a mandir comes up in Ayodhya, its chief Mohan Bhagwat said, as the 10,000-odd saints in attendance rooted for the Gujarat chief minister as the country’s next prime minister.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad-organised sansad had on Wednesday, too, witnessed BJP president Rajnath Singh and VHP patron Ashok Singhal express their commitment to a Ram temple. On Thursday, Bhagwat asked Hindus to stop depending on others and instead, rise to the occasion and achieve the target themselves. “I want a government that will ensure construction of the Ram temple. We should be alert so that whoever forms the government will either get the temple made or be made to do it.” VHP patron Ashok Singhal said it was shameful that Lord Ram was living in a house made of pink cloth at Ram Janambhumi site. “The movement required for getting the temple constructed would be 10 times that of the freedom struggle the country had witnessed," he said while appealing to Hindus to show strength.
Touching on the recent controversy over comments made by home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Bhagwat said those who speak of Hindu terror do not understand the nation, for in India Hindu interest means national interest.“Violence and terrorism have never had a place in the RSS or the Sangh Parivar,” he added. Meanwhile, the clamour to make Modi the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for Elections 2014 got louder.
{{/usCountry}}Touching on the recent controversy over comments made by home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Bhagwat said those who speak of Hindu terror do not understand the nation, for in India Hindu interest means national interest.“Violence and terrorism have never had a place in the RSS or the Sangh Parivar,” he added. Meanwhile, the clamour to make Modi the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for Elections 2014 got louder.
{{/usCountry}}Bhagwat described the Gujarat strongman as a “friend” but refrained from saying more. The others didn’t hold back, though. VHP veteran Giriraj Kishore said Modi was “every inch” capable of being prime minister. “Not UPA, not NDA, only Narendra Modi is the need of the hour,” said Vasudev Prapannacharya, a religious leader from Rajasthan.
Similarly, Govindacharyaji Maharaj made it clear that a leader like Modi was the answer to all solutions.