The Hindu : `Courts cannot decide on Ram's birthplace'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 20, 2002

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National

`Courts cannot decide on Ram's birthplace'

BHOPAL, FEB. 19. Asserting that courts had no right to decide the birthplace of Lord Ram, the VHP International general secretary, Praveen Togadia, today said that ``come what may'' the temple construction at Ayodhya would begin from March 15.

At a press conference here, Mr. Togadia said it was a matter of faith for Hindus that Lord Ram was born at Ayodhya just as it was a matter of faith for the Christians that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

``Just as no court can give a ruling on whether Christ was born in Bethlehem or not, no court in the country can decide whether Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya or not,'' he said.

``The jehadi mentality, which led Babar to destroy the Ram temple at Ayodhya more than 400 years ago, was the same mentality that led to partition of the country in 1947, the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11 last and the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001.''

Mr. Togadia refused to comment on the RSS spokesman, M.G. Vaidya's statement on Monday at Nagpur that a mosque could be built near the proposed Ram temple.

The Shankaracharyas of all the four `peeths' were with VHP on the issue of temple construction, he added.

/*- PTI

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