Author:
Publication: The Hindu
Date: September 9, 2000
NEW DELHI, SEPT.
8. A Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is very much on the agenda of the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad and the timing to start its construction will be decided
by the `dharma sansad' when it meets during the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad
early next year.
Stating this at a press
conference, Dr. Parveenbhai Togadiya and Mr. Onkar Bhave, the
international general secretary and joint general secretary of the VHP,
along with Dr. Surinder Jain, the national convener of the Bajrang
Dal, confirmed that the VHP proposed to take out a `yatra' of the Ram Temple
model from Jaipur to Ayodhya.
This `yatra' should start
sometime in October or November and the model would be installed at Ayodhya
sometime in January next year. As for the commencement of temple
construction, the VHP would follow the decision of the `dharma sansad.'
Also on the agenda of
the VHP was a big celebration at Som Nath temple to mark 50 years of its
opening by the first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, next year.
`Jalabhisekh' and a pledge by the devotees to construct the Ram temple
would be among the highlights of the celebrations, Dr. Togadiya said.
On the BJP-led NDA Government's
stand on the issue, they said, `` we are not satisfied.'' Asked for their
reaction to the call given by the new BJP chief, Mr. Bangaru Laxman,
to the party to reach out to the minorities, particularly Muslims, they
said they did not think that the BJP was trying to appease the minorities.``Any
one who does try to follow the policy of appeasement would go the Congress
way'', they said admitting that some people within the Sangh Parivar were
a little apprehensive about the new approach.
``Suspicion has started
in the minds of some workers. They are asking questions and raising
this issue,'' they said, adding that, ``our alliance is not with any political
party but with the Hindus. Any party that supports Hindus gets our
support.''
``If any party tries
to appease the Muslims, then it is a no with a capital `N' from our side...
nobody in this country can neglect the national and cultural aspirations
of Hindus,'' Mr. Togadiya said.
Asserting that the country
was partitioned and was paying a heavy price in Kashmir due to the appeasement
policies of parties like the Congress, he said as of now it did not seem
that the BJP was following a policy of appeasement.
They had met the National
Minorities Commission and asked for an inquiry, either by the CBI or a
retired High Court Judge, to identify those carrying out a disinformation
campaign against the VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu organisations.
Expressing their concern
over ``church terrorism'' in the northeast, they referred to certain incidents
in which Hindu priests in Tripura were killed and nothing much had been
done in those cases. The issue had been taken up even with the Union
Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani.
Although they had welcomed
the initiative of the Commission to call for tripartite discussions, the
Christian leaders had backed out and were dragging their feet. They
had ``vitiated the atmosphere through a smear campaign.''
