In his Vijaydashmi address before the Lok Sabha elections, Bhagwat said: “Lord Ram is the symbol of India".
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday demanded a law to be framed to allow the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In his Vijaydashmi address before the Lok Sabha elections, Bhagwat said: “Lord Ram is the symbol of India. His temple should be built through whatever means necessary. Government should frame a law and build the Ram Temple. That is our demand,” Bhagwat said in his speech on Thursday morning.
“The Hindu community has for several years been waiting for the grand Ram temple. Unfortunate attempts have been made only to delay this process. We don’t want any more delays,” Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat said the sangh has been associated with sentiments of crores of country men in the efforts for construction of a magnificent Ram temple at the birthplace of Lord Rama, who is the personification of life energy of the nation and icon of upholding the dharma.
The acceptance of eternal Hindutva ethos is the panacea for fundamentalism, selfishness, unrestrained consumerism arising out of hardcore materialism and insensitivity, he said.
"Temple construction is necessary from self-esteem point of view; it will also pave way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness," he said.
"The 'janmabhoomi' (birth place) is yet to be allocated for the construction of the temple although all kinds of evidence have affirmed that there was a temple at that place (in Ayodhya)," Bhagwat said.
He said "politics is delaying the construction of Ram Mandir" and that it is in "nobody's interest to test the patience of the society without any reason."
The Ayodhya case is currently before the Supreme Court and the next hearing is scheduled for October 29.
"There is an obvious game plan of a few elements to stall the judgement (of the Supreme Court) by presenting various newer interventions in the judicial process," Bhagwat said.
"This matter of national interest is being obstructed by some fundamentalist elements and forces that play communal politics for selfish gains," he said.
"Despite such machinations, the decision on ownership of the land should be expedited and the government should clear the path for the construction of the grand temple through an appropriate and requisite law," the RSS chief said.
BJP LEADERS BACK BHAGWAT'S DEMAND FOR RAM MANDIR LAW, OPPOSITON SAYS IT IS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
Several BJP leaders on Thursday supported RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's push for a law to enable construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying legislation is a constitutionally valid option.
Opposition and Muslim leaders, however, linked Bhagwat’s call for legislation to allow a Ram temple where the Babri Masjid stood to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, saying his demand is “politically motivated”.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said Bhagwat’s remarks indicated that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party believed in totalitarianism and not in the rule of law.
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said Bhagwat made a constitutionally valid demand and the government should bring an ordinance for construction of the temple.
Shrikant Sharma, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government and its spokesperson, echoed the view.
He said the legislation to build the temple at Ayodhya will be in accordance with the Constitution.
Sharma said there have always been two options for constructing the temple - one is to take the legal course and another to build a consensus. An ordinance can be part of the legal route, he said.
He said the matter has been delayed long in courts.
In his customary Dussehra address at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, Bhagwat said the government should clear the path for the construction of a grand temple through an appropriate law.
"What Mr Bhagwat said is within the Constitution, is constitutionally valid. We have been seeing that the Sunni Waqf Board lawyers are only trying to delay the proceedings in the court. There is nothing really left, except delay, government should bring an ordinance," Swamy said.
Terming Bhagwat's speech historic, former BJP MP Vinay Katiyar rejected the contention that he made the demand for a law for the temple with an eye on the 2019 elections.
BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said a grand Ram temple must be built at the birthplace of Lord Ram. He said this is the desire of all Hindus.
In Lucknow, opposition parties and Muslim leaders said Bhagwat’s call was meant to serve political interests.
"The statement on Ram temple given by the RSS chief is a political statement before the upcoming elections," Samajwadi Party spokesman in Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI.
UP Congress spokesman Anshu Awasthi said it is an open secret that whenever the RSS and the BJP speak about Lord Ram it should be understood that elections are round the corner.
"Now they are out to raise the name of Ram shamelessly at election time to serve their political interests," Awasthi added.
Darul Uloom Farangi Mahal rector Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali said even a child knows that the Ram temple issue is raised by the RSS-BJP every time before the elections.
Babri Masjid Action Committee convenor Zafaryab Jilani said Bhagwat is trying to influence the court, referring to the title suit for the disputed site in Ayodhya.
In Hyderabad, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said Bhagwat’s demand indicated that that the RSS and the BJP believe in "totalitarianism".
“Do it,” he said, referring to the demand for enacting a law on Ram temple. “Who is stopping the RSS and their government?”
“The RSS and the BJP believe in totalitarianism. They don't believe in pluralism or rule of law," Owaisi told reporters.
The Hyderabad MP said the Supreme Court had clearly stated here cannot be an exclusive law for any particular religion.
Firebrand Hindu leader Pravin Togadia questioned why such a law was not enacted in the last four and a half years of the BJP rule.
The RSS is raising the issue now because elections are round the corner and the BJP government's performance is dismal, he said.
BUILD RAM MANDIR OR ADMIT IT WAS A 'JUMLA': UDDHAV THACKERAY TO BJP
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday launched a frontal attack on the BJP-led central government, saying that the saffron party should either build the Ram Temple or admit that it was also a ‘jumla’ (gimmick).
“I will go to Ayodhya on November 25. I will ask questions to the prime minister (over alleged delay in constructing the temple)…We are not enemies of the prime minister, but we don’t want to play with the emotions of the people,” Thackeray told a huge gathering of the party workers during a Dussehra event at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
He also sought to know why Modi had not visited Ayodhya in the past four and half years, after becoming the prime minister.
Thackeray, who said a “2014-like wave” is not prevailing in the country, asked Sena workers to be prepared for polls. The BJP and the Shiv Sena have been in a strained relationship despite sharing power at the Centre and the state.
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