Thiruvananthapuram: The fund collection drive of Sangh Parivar organizations for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya is underway in Kerala as a low-key affair. The fund collection drive that started on Jan 31 will conclude on Feb 21. The instructions for the pan-India drive come directly from the trust set up for temple construction in Ayodhya.
A delegation led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad international secretary general Milind S Parande called on governor Arif Mohammed Khan at his official residence on Wednesday. Mataji Jananabhinishta received Khan’s contribution to the temple trust. Other members in the delegation included Isro’s former chairman G Madhavan Nair who is the president of the fund collection campaign committee in Kerala and former DGP TP Senkumar, the vice-president of the committee.
Sangh Parivar sources said there was strict instruction from the top that the collection drive should not turn into a show of strength. Rather, it should be a silent campaign in which Parivar representatives would visit all Hindu households and seek contributions. A four-fold leaflet, with the drawing of Rama on the facing sheet, is also distributed in households.
Those who conduct this campaign are not expected to speak about anything else, even in the poll-bound states. They aren’t supposed to make forceful demand for donation. The coupons, in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000, are distributed by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Theerth Kshetra and those who are in charge of the collection drive at ward-level are supposed to remit the daily collection in one of the three accounts opened for the purpose in nationalized banks.
“The campaign is an attempt to ensure participation. Contributions can be namesake only. The campaign in Kerala is along the lines of the campaign Parivar organizations had carried out for setting up the memorial for Swami Vivekananda in the sea in Kanyakumari,” said a VHP leader.