In a major setback to the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar’s mediation on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue, RSS and VHP said any decision has to be taken through consultation at the Dharma Sansad.
Addressing the congregation of the Hindu saints at the three day Dharma Sansad in coastal town of Udupi in Karnataka, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made it clear that any proposal on Ramjanmabhoomi issue must go through Dharma Sansad.
He said “There is a very popular person who also proposed to negotiate, announced in the media, which is where I heard it from... that person also came to me as well, but I said that is not my job.”
“This movement’s decisions have to be taken under the guidance of the Dharma Sansad... Everybody has freedom and there is democracy so if anybody is willing [to negotiate] they can. But whosoever wants to help in the negotiation on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue has to go through the Sansad,” he added.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar recently went ahead to negotiate with the Muslm leaders on the issue which has received a lukewarm response and had to comeback without deal struck.
Bhagwat’s remark come as a severe blow to Ravishankar’s attempts on negotiation. Last month, the chairman of the UP Shia Central Waqf Board Waseem Rizvi had met Sri Sri in Bengaluru in this regard.
In another development VHP General Secretary Champat Rai said that VHP has nothing to do with his mediation efforts. “He (Ravishankar) did not discuss the matter with us. If he is mediating, he is doing so at his personal level. VHP has nothing to do with it” he added.
The ongoing Dharma Sansad congregation of Hindu saints and seers in its second day of deliberations on Saturday asked Hindu saints to eradicate un-touchability and social inequality to build a strong India founded on social equality.
It has also been proposed that each Hindu family should hold 'Kanya Poojan' (worshipping girls) on 'Ashtami' of every month of Hindu lunar calendar and invite girls including those from SC/ST and OBC community. The VHP urged all the saints under the umbrella of Dharma Sansad to visit the localities of dalits and scheduled tribes and give religious discourses and build social equality. “Hindu society should unite and fight back against the Vidharmis (believers of other religion) who attempt to veer off families from ‘Dharma’ by way of deviating from Hindu values and insult to Hindu belief system”, the resolution said.