Ayodhya dispute: Mohan Bhagwat says Hindus should insist on law for Ram temple

While addressing a rally of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Mohan Bhagwat asked the Centre to bring an ordinance for construction of Ram temple, if the Ayodhya case is not on Supreme Court's priority list.

Shankracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati (C) addresses during the Hunkaar Sabha organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to mobilise support in favour of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, while RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Sadhvi Rutumbara look on, in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Sunday. PTI Photo

NAGPUR: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday made a strong pitch for building the Ram Temple on the disputed site at Ayodhya, saying only the mandir would come up there and not any other structure. While addressing a rally of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bhagwat asked the Centre to bring an ordinance, if the Ayodhya case is not on Supreme Court's priority list. He said Hindus need not fight, but should insist that the government make a law to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. "We do not need to fight but need to insist. We will have to create an atmosphere that the government should build the temple now. We have to demand of the government to make a law for it. We need to build pressure on the government," Bhagwat said at VHP's "Hunkar Sabha" here. "If a government wants to build the temple and is not finding the ways, public pressure gives it strength. The entire country needs to stand for the temple." He said that the construction of Ram temple is not related to politics. "It has no relation with politics. We need a grand Ram temple. It should be made in the same format as we have imagined. It should be built by the hands of those who tried to build it in the 80s. We need to mobilise the entire society for this," he said.

He said that the society does not move according to the words written in law, but according to its 'mann' (mind). "It is like this everywhere in the world. The law needs to understand it, while the society respects the law," he said. The Supreme Court has said that the construction of Ram temple is not its priority. In 2010, the Court decided that lord Ram was born there. It is his place. A hope was instilled that now Ram temple will be constructed. But the matter went to a new bench which again dragged it. The court clearly indicated that it was not their priority, he said. He said the Ram temple issue was not meant to bring someone to power or to throw someone out of power. "If the issue is resolved before elections, the issue can be put to an end," he said. Reminding the Centre, he said it had once promised that if it was proven that there was a Ram temple at the site, then the place can be given to the Hindus which could be utilised by them according to their wish. "It has been proven time and again that there was a temple. This is the place where Lord Ram was born," he said. Lord Ram, lord Krishna and lord Shiv unite us. They do not see caste and religion. They teach us dignity. If a grand temple for Ram is constructed, all clashes will end, he claimed. "That's why I am saying that the government should bring a legislation. Those who are responsible for it should think about how a legislation can be brought. A law should be passed at the earliest. And it will be appropriate. Because all kinds of evidence has affirmed that there was a temple at 'that place'," he said. (With inputs from IANS)