Ayodhya always displayed religious harmony, history is in making, says BJP leader Pawaiya

BHOPAL: Former BJP minister Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya, the then president of Bajrang Dal during Ramjanmbhoomi movement in Ayodhya, recalled the struggle for the construction of Ram temple and said that Ayodhya always displayed communal harmony amid unrest across the country over the issue. Pawaiya who reached Ayodhya on Monday evening also handed over the holy water of river Chambal and soil of Peetambara Shakti Peeth to Ram Temple Trust president, Nritya Gopal Das.
"I am witnessing a historic event which came after a struggle of 500 years and sacrifice of tens and hundreds of Karsevaks. History is in making and my heart is full of emotions. I am sitting in a corner with the saints with old memories of the martyrs and making my life meaningful on this pious occasion," Pawaiya told TOI over phone from Ayodhya.
"I am at a place named Maniram Das Chhavni, which is known for the beginning of the movement . It was the most important center of Ayodhya in the Ram temple movement. When Mulayam Singh government had claimed that Ayodhya is unpaniterable where even a bird cannot flutter, it was the Chhavni where thousands of Karsevaks had first launched the movement on October 30, 1990," recalled Pawaiya. He also added, "The UP police was searching for VHP leader Ashok Singhal, he shocked everybody by suddenly appearing in the middle of the military troop. It was the beginning of the scuffle between the police and the Karsevaks."
Feeling the ambience ahead of the bhumi pujan in Ayodhya, the BJP leader said, "The birthplace of Lord Ram had never witnessed unease between two communities only because of mutual sharing and care for life. People depend on each other for livelihood and they never felt detached besides different faiths. This is the essence of the holy place everywhere."
Pawaiya said that he reached Ayodhya on the instructions of Ram Temple Trust president but, due to corona pandemic he would remain aloof from major programmes and remember his colleagues who laid their life during the movement.
"I have handed over the hold water of river Chambal which carried the emotions of the devotees and the families of the martyrs apart from the pious soil of Peetambara Shakti Peeth which is the source of energy. The saints are enjoying the blissful moment ahead of bhumi pujan of the temple and lighting lamps for the well being of all," he said.
The BJP leader said that the work for which he gave the best of his life, today is the time to witness the completion of the work. He will be blessed to see his dream fulfilled by joining the bhumi poojan of Ram temple as thousands of youth like him had given the best of their lives for this cause. Pawaiya began his association with the BJP youth wing in 1973 and was elevated to the post of president in Bajrang Dal and a senior cadre in Vishwa Hindu Parishad before the Ramjanmbhoomi movement. He was among the top BJP leaders who have been accused of conspiracy in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.