The Hindu : We are no longer bound by promise on Ayodhya: VHP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 23, 2002

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We are no longer bound by promise on Ayodhya: VHP

By C.K. Chandramohan

HARDWAR JUNE 22. The Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad today dissociated itself from the earlier assurance given to the Union Government that it will abide by the court verdict on the Ayodhya issue. The Government, which had ``failed to abide'' by its assurances, could still "atone" for its acts of omission and commission by handing over the 43 acres of undisputed land in Ayodhya to the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas or the VHP and pave the way for the construction of the Ram temple, it said at a two-day meeting which began here.

The meeting decided that a letter backtracking on the assurance given on March 8 to the Government through the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati, would be handed over to the Sankaracharya on June 25.

With this, the VHP will have nothing to do with the NDA Government, it was stated.

It said all State units of the VHP would mobilise Hindus for temple construction from the third week of July. A `sant samagam' would be held in January or February 2003. The VHP international general secretary, Praveenbhai Togadia, said the VHP was not bound by the earlier assurance as the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had failed to keep his promises on the temple issue, despite the President's nod.

The Ram mandir issue was a matter of belief for Hindus and above the purview of the courts, he said citing ruling of the Calcutta High Court in 1985.

The high court, he said, had maintained that no order could be given in a case involving the Holy Quran as it was a matter of belief for Muslims. Likewise, the temple issue was non-justiciable.

Mr. Togadia demanded enactment of a law to facilitate construction of Ram temple "keeping in view the Hindu sentiments and to prevent violence in the country."

`Growing ISI activity'

Addressing the meeting, the VHP leader, Ashok Singhal, warned Muslims that "if they continue to take the country towards partition," they would have to stay in refugee camps like in Gujarat.

Expressing serious concern over "growing Islamic fundamentalism and ISI activity," Mr. Singhal claimed that the recent communal violence in Gujarat symbolised the first "positive response of Hindus to Muslim fundamentalism in 1,000 years."

Ban `madrassas'

The meeting urged the Centre to ban madrassas (Muslim seminaries) "promoting Islamic terrorism" and other educational centres spreading the Taliban ideology in the country.

In a resolution on "jehad and conspiracy of another partition of India," it said about 100,000 madrassas being run in the country were preparing millions of "Talibans — fundamentalist students" who would work for another partition.

The resolution, moved by Swami Vigyananand, said "Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf's assertion that the next war would be fought on Indian soil indicated that he considered these Taliban students as part of his Army."

The meeting also condemned sex determination test saying it led to killing of female foetus. It called upon society not to go for these tests.

The VHP leaders expressed their resentment over the acquisition of several temples in and around Ayodhya by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

"If this is not stopped, the consequences will be serious as the VHP will not remain a silent spectator," they warned.

Holymen boycott meet

The meeting began at the Nishkam Seva Ashram here amid a near-total boycott by the Akhara Parishad with the VHP leaders accusing the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, of trying to divide the sadhus through Brahmachari Brahmaswaroop, treasurer of the Uttaranchal unit of the party and head of several ashrams in Hardwar.

This is the second time that the VHP has faced near-isolation by the holy men, who openly accused Ashok Singhal of having used them as a "bait to blackmail Hindu society and the Government".

"Perhaps the VHP and the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas will make public the accounts of the funds collected by them in the name of Ram temple,'' said Swami Dhirendra Saraswati and several prominent sadhus of Hardwar.

They appealed to the masses not to get swayed by the "emotional" calls made by the VHP for its own ends.

Among those present at the meeting were Ashok Singhal, Sadhvi Ritambara and Giriraj Kishore, president, Ramajanmabhoomi Nyas.

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