VHP gives Vajpayee two years to resolve Ram temple issue

NEW DELHI, April 7: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have upped the ante on the Hindutva agenda. The VHP has served a notice ...

NEW DELHI, April 7: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have upped the ante on the Hindutva agenda. The VHP has served a notice on the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government, giving it two years to resolve the Ayodhya temple dispute, VHP secretary general Acharya Giriraj Kishore indicated today.

The VHP now plans to prefabricate the proposed temple and assemble it in Ayodhya, taking inspiration from the Swaminarayan temple in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) which was built in this fashion. "It will take two years to complete the stone carving work which is already well under way. After

that is finished, no Government can stop us from building the temple," said VHP joint secretary Ramnath Ozha. Kishore also declared that the VHP and Bajrang Dal would not allow any cow slaughter on Bakri Id, which falls tomorrow. He said that 212 chowkis had been set up in various parts of the country to ensure that no cows or calves were slaughtered tomorrow.

At the same time, the Bajrang Dal, which is also a wing of the RSScombine as the VHP and BJP are, has launched an agitation to stop the use of pictures of gods and goddesses on commercial products. "This is hurting Hindu sentiments. We are giving them one year to stop," said Bajrang Dal national convenor Surendra Kumar Jain. Beedi, tobacco and cigarette packets, firecrackers, lotteries and liquor bottles that sport such pictures would be targeted, he said.

Story continues below this ad

The VHP is to hold a meeting of its apex body in Hardwar on April 10 and 11 to decide its future programmes. The issues of Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi as well as stopping Government control of temples would also be discussed, Kishore told mediapersons today.

Kishore described the BJP-led Vajpayee Government as "a better Hindu government than previous ones". It was "not favourable but also not unfavourable as far as the temple issue is concerned," he said. Prevented by the Representation of the People Act from openly canvassing for the BJP during the general elections, the VHP had asked voters to vote for a "pro-Hindu"party.

The Bajrang Dal also announced today that it plans to establish Balopasana Kendras all over the country to train youth in judo and karate. Jain said that this was to train youth to defend Hindu society from "attacks". When asked to define such attacks, he said that "ISI activities, Christian missionaries and cultural invasions via television" were included in the gamut. He said that by October-end, the Dal hoped to set up such kendras in every district and block of the country.

Given the Bajrang Dal’s image, Jain emphasised that the youth trained in the kendras would "only use persuasion to protest against anti-Hindu activities, not muscle-power". However, he could not explain why, in that case, they would be taught judo and karate. The Bajrang Dal, he said, was not a militant force. "It is an assertive organisation," he added.