VHP to rake up Ram temple issue

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) plans to rake up the Ram temple issue at the forthcoming “Mahakumbha”  beginning at “Sangam” (the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers) at Allahabad on January 27 next year.

The Ram temple issue will be taken up at the “Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal,” the highest decision making body of the organisation, at its meeting scheduled for February 6, according to VHP leaders.

The leaders said that besides Ram temple, other issues concerning hindu society like growing pollution in the Ganga and acquisition of Hindu “ashrams” and temples would also be discussed at the meeting.

“We will lay stress on formulating a decisive strategy for the construction of Ram temple. A resolution in this respect may also be adopted at the meeting,” said Ram Janambhoomi Trust chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, who is a member of the Mandal.

He also said religious heads would never accept construction of a mosque within the “cultural boundary” of Ayodhya. The meeting assumes significance as a large number of saints from across the country will be present at the “Mahakumbha.”

 ``The saints from different sects will also be roped in for endorsing decisions taken at the meeting,'' the VHP leaders said. Since millions of devotees also converge on the “Sangam” to take a holy dip, ``Mahakumbha is the right venue for taking decisions on religious issues,'' they said.

They said the Vishwa Hindu Parishad may plan a nationwide movement to mobilise support for Ram temple construction. “A massive agitation may also be launched to force resolution of the vexed issue,'' the leaders added.

The last meeting of the Mandal had taken place at Hardwar in Uttarakhand about three years back. In the last Mahakumbha at Allahabad in 2001 also the VHP had organised a “Dharm Sansad” (religious parliament) in which the issue of Ram temple had been taken up.