RSS wants Ram Temple at the earliest: Mohan Bhagwat

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday made a strong pitch for Ram Temple at Ayodhya “at the earliest”, but steered clear of questions on whether Sangh favours an ordinance for this.

“The issue of an ordinance is with the government. Whether to bring the ordinance or not, whether to enact a law, whether the ordinance will get challenged or whether it will lead to allegations that it was done suddenly for electoral benefits, all these concerns them.

“As RSS chief I want a magnificent Ram temple built at the birthplace of Rama. The temple should be constructed where he was born. If this happens, it will end frequent Hindu-Muslim disputes. Questions that are raised on Muslims, again and again, would come to an end if this is resolved amicably,” Bhagwat said replying to questions at the three-day conclave ‘Bhavishya Ka Bharat — An RSS Perspective’.

While the RSS chief reiterated the Sangh’s commitment to core issues of Ayodhya, Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code, he significantly underlined that these measures have to be implemented through persuasion.

Winding up his three-day interaction programme, Bhagwat indicated that the Sangh is open to changes and stressed that it is “not a closed” organisation, when his attention was drawn towards some anti-Muslim remarks made by the second Sarsangchalak of the RSS, M S Golwalkar, in his controversial book “Bunch of Thoughts”

Calling on Muslims to come to Sangh and see it from inside, the RSS chief downplayed remarks against minorities made in the Golwalkar’s’ book saying those statements made in a particular context are not permanent in nature.

“The Sangh is not a closed organisation. It’s not that we will keep following everything that Dr Hedgewar said once upon a time. It is Dr Hedgewar himself, who has permitted us to change. Those who have such apprehensions may think that the Sangh is a closed organisation. It is not so,” Bhagwat said insisting that the RSS has kept changing in tune with times.

On the controversial issue of “gau raksha”, the RSS de-linked cow protection from lynching in the name of cow vigilantism saying those engaged in cow protection work are different from the “miscreants”. They cannot be allowed to take the law into their hands. The Sangh head also said, "We have to reject the double-speak as there is no talk of violence by cow smugglers."

On the reservation, an issue which has put the RSS and, particularly Bhagwat in a discomforting situation many times, the RSS chief said the Sangh “fully backs all kinds of reservation which are in sync with the Constitution” and it is for “the reserved classes to decide till what time quota should continue”.

He said while people can adopt any religion by choice, conversion by inducement is wrong and should be opposed. Bhagwat also said that Sangh was not opposed to any language, including English, but it cannot replace an Indian language.