The Hindu : VHP asks Vajpayee to move Bill for Ram temple

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 04, 2003

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VHP asks Vajpayee to move Bill for Ram temple

By Our Special Correspondent

AHMEDABAD Aug. 3. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and its Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal member, Acharya Dharmendra Maharaj, has asked the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to move a bill in Parliament for the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple or to quit office.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the Acharya, who earlier addressed a "sant sammelan'' in Nadiad, 60 km from here in central Gujarat, appreciated Mr. Vajpayee and his deputy, L.K. Advani's presence at the funeral of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas president, Ramchandradas Paramhans, but said the Prime Minister's promise of a Ram temple in Ayodhya did not mean anything to the people of the country. He said what Mr. Vajpayee said at the condolence meeting, though was apt for the situation, did not indicate the Centre's way of thinking for its implementation.

"The time is up for all these theories, what Hindus in the country want now is a practical solution to the imbroglio.'' He said Mr. Vajpayee's rhetoric had failed to satisfy the people's aspirations.

Without naming the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the Acharya said those who had been talking in terms of court verdict for solving the Ayodhya temple impasse had themselves by criticising the Supreme Court's verdict on the common civil code had made it amply clear that they had no respect for the judiciary.

While the court chapter on the issue was "closed'', the question of solving the issue through talks was impractical because all along India and the Hindus had always ended up on the losing side in negotiations with Pakistan and Muslims.

The only course left now was to implement the Ram temple construction through legislation.

The VHP, he said, had demanded Mr. Vajpayee and the NDA Government to bring about a bill to this effect immediately. If the bill failed in Parliament, as was the apprehension expressed by some ruling party leaders, Mr. Vajpayee could ask the President to dissolve the House and seek a fresh mandate from the people. Claiming that even digging of the land in Ayodhya would not benefit the Muslims as "clear hints of existence of a temple'' was being unearthed, the Acharya said the only course left to Muslims in the country was now to "accept themselves as trespassers'' in Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura and give up their claims on the three major Hindu shrines.

He said even the British Government by naming the Ayodhya police station as the "Janmabhoomi'' police station had admitted the fact that it was the birthplace of Lord Rama.

With the Supreme Court having made it clear that deciding the birthplace of Lord Rama was not its job, nothing more could be expected from the judiciary and it was only the "obstinacy'' of a few Muslim leaders that the issue had been kept hanging in the fire.

Strongly criticising the "so-called secularists'' like the Congress and the leftist parties, he said unfortunately even these parties could not openly support the apex court's verdict on the common civil code and by supporting the National Human Rights Commission's move to approach the Supreme Court on the Best Bakery case had demonstrated scant respect for the judiciary. The "sant sammelan", attended by sadhus and sants from various parts of central and north Gujarat, adopted various resolutions including one to demand the Central Government to move a Ram temple bill and another to hand over Kashmir entirely to the Army to stop terrorism.

The sammelan also adopted condolence resolutions to mourn the deaths of Paramhans and the former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief, Rajendra Singh alias Rajju Bhaiya, and decided to target at least two crore Hindu families in the country to distribute "Sankalpa Sutra", the oath to support construction of the Ram temple.

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