Pravin Togadia, the VHP international working president, found no place in the executive body V S Kokje announced after the election, the first for the post of VHP president. (File Photo)
A day after Pravin Togadia quit the Vishwa Hindu Parishad after his nominee for the president’s post, Raghav Reddy, was routed in an organisational poll, the new working president president of the Hindu outfit claimed the change in leadership “will not affect the Ram temple movement.”
In a veiled attack on Togadia, VHP’s new working president Alok Kumar on Sunday said: “Few people are claiming that the temple building movement will become weak because they have moved away. I can say that the entire Hindu community is committed to temple building. Grand temple of Ram will be built at his birthplace. Same bricks and pillars will be used in the building, which society has donated for the temple.”
He was speaking at a programme organised to felicitate the new office bearers of VHP. Claiming that the time for the construction of Ram temple was drawing closer, Kumar said, “Either the court will decide… Otherwise, if felt needed, will get a law made for this purpose.” He added that no new mosque would be built within the territory of cultural Ayodhya, but one could be built, if required, outside Ayodhya.
Kumar replaced Togadia as the VHP working president after the latter quit on Saturday. Soon after quitting, Togadia announced an indefinite fast from Tuesday seeking the welfare of Hindus and to seek construction of Ram Janmbhoomi Temple at Ayodhya, nationwide ban on cow slaughter, enforcement of the common civil code and relocation of displaced Kashmiri Hindus. “Change of office bearers does not make change in programmes and working style. Now we will work with more energy on every issue, including Ram temple,” new president V S Kokje said. He refused to comment on Togadia’s decision to quit and go on an indefinite fast.