Author: Our Special Correspondent
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: March 12, 2003
URL: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1030311/asp/nation/story_1755871.asp
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today
warned Muslims that it would launch a nationwide agitation for "reclamation"
of the 30,000 temples that were "converted" into mosques if they do not
"reconsider" their statements or "change their mindset" on the Ramjanmabhoomi
issue.
"It is for Muslims to decide whether
they want to be part of the process of cooperation or confrontation and
agitation," VHP leaders declared.
According to VHP leaders, getting
back the Gyan Vapi mosque in Varanasi and the Idgah mosque in Mathura were
as "important" as the Ram temple. The Kashi Vishwanath temple was demolished
by Aurangzeb to build the mosque and the "proof" the VHP cites are carvings
of Shiva and Parvati on its walls.
The Idgah mosque stands cheek by
jowl with the Krishnajanmasthan temple. The VHP's case is that Aurangzeb
had not converted it into Waqf property and in the records kept by Maratha
rulers and the British it was shown as "government" property.
VHP leaders Praveen Togadia and
Acharya Giriraj Kishore referred to the criticism of Allahabad High Court's
order to excavate the Ayodhya site by some Muslim representatives as "unprecedented".
Kishore also gave the example of
the Bhojshala shrine in Madhya Pradesh and argued that by calling it Waqf
property and getting the court to adjudicate its ownership, Muslims had
"clearly" opted for the "confrontationist" path. The two were addressing
the press on their return from the RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha.
Togadia announced that on March
27, the VHP would launch its satyagraha in the capital to press for the
"undisputed" land in Ayodhya to be handed over to its temple trust and
Parliament to legislate a law on this. "The VHP proposes that a legal solution
for the temple is the only solution," he said, asking the Opposition to
clarify its stand.
"The two main parties, the BJP and
the Congress, have had the same stand for a long time, namely that the
Ram temple issue can be resolved either through the court or talks," he
added.
Togadia said if Parliament could
enact laws to overturn the judiciary's ruling in the Shah Bano case and
convert a centrally-administered university like Aligarh Muslim University
into a "minority" institution, why could it not bring a law to allow a
temple to be built in Ayodhya?
Sources said the VHP leader's reference
to the Shah Bano case and AMU was to give the outfit a "cushion". It would
come in handy, they said, if title suits being heard by the Lucknow bench
of Allahabad High Court resulted in an "unfavourable" judgment or the Supreme
Court refused to vacate its order banning religious activity even on the
undisputed land in Ayodhya.
Togadia said the VHP was raising
a one-crore "army" of Ram sevak satyagrahis who would converge in Delhi
from March 27 in batches so that the "crowd would be manageable".
Each round of satyagraha, he added,
would be presided over by a "jagatguru".
