Nagpur: The tricolour was hoisted at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) premises on the 72nd Republic Day, amid calls to donate for the Ram temple at Ayodhya. For the first time in recent years, none of the two top leaders — the sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat and sarkaryavaha (general secretary) Bhaiyaji (Suresh) Joshi were in Nagpur on the day. Bhagwat is on a visit to Gujarat and Joshi is in Tripura, said an RSS official.
Two separate functions were held at the RSS headquarters in Mahal as well as the Dr Hedgewar Smruti Mandir campus in Reshimbagh locality.
City unit chief Rajesh Loya, who unfurled the flag at Mahal, said even as things were moving in the right direction, there was also a need to further strengthen the resolve of countrymen. Loya said the society at large should try to include marginalized classes in its progress.
At the Reshimbagh event, there was a picture of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
Manohar Sapkal, who heads the Ayodhya Nagar unit of RSS in the city, said youth needed to come forward to collect donations for the temple. A public donation drive is under way till March 15, which is supported by the RSS.
Sapkal said, “When Prime Minster Narendra Modi took part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the temple, there was an impression that the temple will be built by the government. However, it’s not the government but the people at large who wanted to have the temple, and from whom the funds are being collected.”
Sapkal recalled the chain of events since the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) first raised the issue, till the Supreme Court verdict.
Dr Abhay Datarkar, a dentist from the city who was the chief guest, said Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin had a great demand in developing countries. It is safer as it consists of dead virus, he added.