Shiv Sena demands law to pave way for Ram temple in Ayodhya
LUCKNOW: The Shiv Sena on Friday demanded law or ordinance in the Parliament to start the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
“This issue (Ram Mandir) cannot be resolved in court. It is not the court’s job to decide an issue of faith and no one will accept it (court’s verdict),” Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said in Lucknow after visiting Ayodhya.
The demand comes at a time when the temple town is set to witness politics of various saffron hues over the Ram Mandir, starting from Dussehra and extending up to December 6.
“If a law (ordinance) can come up for triple talaq and SC/ST issue, then framing of a law or bringing an ordinance for Ram Mandir is not difficult,” he asserted.
Raut landed in Ayodhya on Friday and paid obeisance to Ram Lalla. Raut’s visit is being perceived as ‘ground work’ in Ayodhya before his party chief Uddhay Thackeray arrives.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be visiting Ayodhya after Dussehra to reaffirm his party’s support to the Ram Mandir issue. The Sena chief will be announcing the date of his visit at the party’s annual Dussehra rally in Mumbai on October 19.
“If the issue (Ram Mandir) is not resolved now, it will never be resolved. The BJP has majority governments at the Centre and in the state (Uttar Pradesh),” Raut said.
He demanded that the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya must start before 2019 Lok Sabha poll and the issue must end.
He also expressed confidence that with PM Narendra Modi around, the law will be framed or ordinance will come up in Parliament for Ram Mandir.
Referring to the makeshift temple, Raut said: “People gave mandate to the government on Ram temple issue. I am coming from Ayodhya. Ram Lalla is in jail there.”
He said if people thought that demanding a law or ordinance for Ram temple was blackmailing, then it was for a cause and not for personal gain.
The Shiv Sena had made the announcement about Thackeray’s visit after Ram Janmabhoomi Trust chief Janmejay Shaeranji Maharaj met the Shiv Sena chief at the party’s headquarters, Sena Bhawan, in Mumbai, on October 3, extending an invitation to visit Ayodhya.
The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust is a parallel body pitched against the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas. But the latter is more powerful.
Sant Paramhans Das had upped the ante for the Ram Mandir by his week-long fast unto death overshadowing the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, the all-powerful body of saints that spearheads the temple movement across the country.
Now, the Nyas is planning to counter Paramhans Das by starting its own movement for Ram Mandir. However, the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas is not the only organisation that will be stirring up the Ram Mandir issue.
And December 6, the 26th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition, will not be like previous anniversaries. The date falls just three months before the country goes into poll-mode for 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the all-powerful saint who heads the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, has already issued a warning to the Modi government to bring a legislation in Parliament to pave the way for construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
The Mahant feels that if the BJP is not in a formidable position after 2019 Lok Sabha polls then the temple will never come up in Ayodhya.
He is also worried that former VHP leader Pravin Togadia, who is now president of the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad, might take up the Ram Mandir cause more fervently than the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas.
Pravin Togadia has given a call for a Ayodhya march on October 21. A large number of supporters of Togadia will assemble at the Ramabai Ambedkar ground here on October 21 for a rally. Thereafter, they will leave for Ayodhya.
To counter Pravin Togadia, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is also likely to start some activity to bring the Ram Mandir issue to the centrestage of Uttar Pradesh’s politics.
This year’s Deepotsav in Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali will also be a grand affair.
It was for the first time in 2017, after the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh after 15 years and Yogi Adityanath was made chief minister that Ayodhya witnessed state-sponsored Deepotsav on the eve of Diwali.
The 2018 Deepotsav will be on a much larger scale. With an eye on December 6 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Yogi government wishes to scale up the event.
Last Diwali, on the occasion of Deepotsav, on the banks of river Saryu, 1,87,213 earthen diyas were lit up setting a Guinness World Record by breaking the previous record of 1,50,009 diyas. For this, around 200,000 diyas were laid on the stairs of Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of River Saryu.
However, this year, the government has planned to light the majestic Ram Ki Paidi ghat with 3 lakh diyas, breaking last year’s record.
Like previous years, CM Yogi Adityanth and Governor Ram Naik will attend the event. A high-powered delegation from the South Korean embassy will also attend the event in which a Korean troupe will showcase the culture of their country.
MAHANT NRITYA GOPAL DAS, THE SAINT WHO HEADS THE RAM JANMABHOOMI NYAS, HAS ALREADY ISSUED A WARNING TO THE MODI GOVERNMENT TO BRING A LEGISLATION IN PARLIAMENT FOR RAM MANDIR IN AYODHYA.