NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on August 14 decided to shift the venue of its proposed ‘Vishnu mahayagna’ from a silecloseto the Krishna Janambhoomi temple Shahi Tdgah Masjid to the Laxmi Narayan temple complex in Mathura on August 18 in a bid to avoid a possible showdown with the BJP backed Bahujan Samajwadi government in Uttar Pradesh.
The compromise formula aimed at avoiding any untoward incident on Janmashthami Day was hammered out at 2 90minute meeting between the Chief Minister and the VHP leaders here,
Following an appeal from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms. Mayawati, the VHP agreed to perform the yagna and parikrama at the Laxmi Narayan temple complex in Mathura rather than the originally planned venue of intercollege ground close to the temple masjid complex.
The VHP had earlier been insisting on performing the yagna and parikramaat the planned site for which permission was refused by the state government.
The UP administration had all along maintained that the yagna could be performed at a site outside the three km radius of the temple masjid complex. In her appeal to the VHP, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that her government was not opposed to religion and did not want to ban any religious rites. But in view of the “difficult situation” prevailing in and around Mathura, the VHP the yagna near the complex and shift the venue with a view to maintaining peace and harmony.
Vinay Katiyar, MP and chief of the Bajrang Dal, announcing the VHP decision to shift the venue said that the VHP did not want any confrontation with the Mayawati government.
He complained that the Congress wanted to create a rift between the VHP, BJP and the BSP so that the BJP_ ‘backed government in the state could be “toppled” and President’s rule imposed in the state.
“We have defeated the design of the Congress,” he said, criticizing the role of the stale Governor on the Mathura issue, the BJP member of Lok Sabha said Motilal Vora “was acting like Chief Minister.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister assured the Ms Mayawati of all Central assistance and asked her to ensure that the twin shrines at Mathura did not come to any harm.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 18, 1995