VHP YATRA CULMINATION PLAN ENDS IN A WHIMPER
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s plan to derive some mileage from the scheduled culmination of its banned and virtually stillborn Chaurasi Kosi Yatra at Basti district’s Makhauda, 20 kilometres from Ayodhya, fizzled out as the district police and the paramilitary force Sashastra Seema Bal made the place (Makhauda) impregnable. The tepid finish was in contrast to the high-profile attempt to take out the yatra which was stopped in Ayodhya on August 25 as it was aimed at mobilising support for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. On Friday, every attempt by the VHP volunteers to reach the Makhauda dham temple complex was foiled and nearly 70 of them were arrested.
MAKHAUDA (BASTI)/AYODHYA: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s plan to derive some mileage from the scheduled culmination of its banned Chaurasi Kosi Yatra at Basti district’s Makhauda, 20 kilometres from Ayodhya, fizzled out as the district police and the paramilitary force Sashastra Seema Bal made the place (Makhauda) impregnable.
The tepid finish was in contrast to the high-profile attempt to launch the yatra, which was stopped at the outset in Ayodhya on August 25, as it was aimed at mobilising support for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. It was supposed to pass through six districts covering 300 kilometres (or Chaurasi Kos) over 21 days.
On Friday, every attempt by the VHP volunteers to reach the Makhauda dham temple complex was foiled and nearly 70 of them were arrested.
Dehradun’s Rameshwarji Maharaj, Maunibaba, along with 13 supporters, as well as Bajrang Dal leader Brijesh Singh were among those arrested.
The police deployed a powerboat in the Manorma river to arrest anyone who attempted to slip into the Makhauda temple complex.
Fifteen barricades were put up on the Ayodhya side of the Ayodhya-Makhauda road.
Basti superintendent of police (SP) VP Srivastava said: “The original 84 kosi parikrama is held in the Chaitra month of the Hindu calendar (April-May). So we did not allow this yatra.”
Though none could reach the spot, VHP spokesperson Sharad Sharma claimed the yatra formally culminated at Makhauda and a yagya (religious ritual) too was performed there. However, the VHP did perform a yagya at the Karsewakpuram, Ayodhya, to mark symbolic culmination of the yatra.
Sharma also said: “Indeed 84 Kosi Parikrama happens in Chaitra month, but the devotees can take it out any time of the year.”
In Ayodhya, security forces cordoned off a cluster of temples at the Saryu Ghat on Friday morning following a tip-off that some VHP volunteers would do Saryu Pujan.
Commissioner Sanjay Prasad, deputy inspector general (DIG) BD Paulson, district magistrate (DM) Vipin Kumar Dwivedi and senior superintendent of police (SSP) KB Singh were in the area all the time. Circle officer Tarkeshwar Pandey served a notice of prohibitory orders on the VHP leaders and sought their cooperation.
With a large posse of security personnel keeping vigil since early on Friday, there was no tension in the temple town.
The relaxed atmosphere was evident as school kids were seen walking or riding bicycles since morning.
And with the yatra’s scheduled culmination ending in a whimper in Makhauda nearby, the administration in Ayodhya too heaved a sigh of relief.
Earlier, on Thursday night, the state police blocked movement of all the prominent VHP-BJP leaders. Party MP Vinay Katiyar; former BJP minister and ex-Ayo- dhya MLA Lallu Singh; Maniram Das Chavani’s priest Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, Digambar Akhara’s Mahant Suresh Das, Ramvalabhkunj’s Rajkumar Das, BJP former district president Mahant Manmohan Das, district secretary Abhishek Mishra and two dozen more persons were put under house arrest at their ashrams or houses in AyodhyaFaizabad.