Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) supporters carry a cutout of Lord Ram during ‘Dharma Sabha’, in which thousands of people gathered at Ramlila Maidan. (PTI)Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi told ANI Tuesday that the government would make “all efforts” on the Ram temple issue once the judicial process is over, the RSS welcomed his remarks and expressed hope that the government “fulfils the promise” in this tenure.
In a statement, RSS sah sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale said, “Even in the 2014 Election Manifesto prepared under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, the BJP promised to explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The people of Bharat reposed complete confidence and gave BJP the full mandate. The people of Bharat expect this government to fulfil the same promise during this tenure.”
He said: “We feel that the statement by Prime Minister is a positive step in the direction of temple construction. The Prime Minister reiterating the resolve to construct a grand Sri Ram Temple in Ayodhya in his interview is in tune with the resolution passed by BJP at Palampur in 1989. In this resolution the BJP had stated that they would try to construct the grand Sri Ram Temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya through mutual dialogue between the two communities or by enabling required legislation.”
The Ram Temple issue was back on the frontburner in September when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in his lecture series in New Delhi, said that Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya at the “earliest”. In his annual Vijayadashmi speech in October, Bhagwat said that the decision regarding ownership of the land should be expedited and the government should clear the path for construction of the temple through an appropriate and requisite law.
But the Supreme Court on October 29 had ignored the UP government’s demand for early hearing in the title suit matter and deferred the matter to January. In the Dharma Sabha in Nagpur on November 25, Bhagwat had regretted that “the Ram temple was not a priority for the Supreme Court” and had called upon the Modi government to think about “how it can bring a law to build the temple.”
