LUCKNOW: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its allied outfits are likely to resume the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on the day of Diwali, which fall on October 26.

The three-month deadline given to Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to resolve the temple-mosque issue expires around this time,

A clear indication of the VHPs renewed agitational bid was given by Onkar Bhave, senior RSS leader, the Organizing Secretary of the VHP and a secretary of the Ramjanma Bhoomi Mukti Ygya Samill.

Behave is a key strategist of the temple movement. October 26 will forever clinch the question whether in a obtained her independence on August 15 or on Diwali, when Rama vanquished the forces of evil and usher in Barm Rajiv,” declared Bhave.

The RSS-VHP leader was convinced that nothing tangible or positive would emerge out of the PMs efforts to find a solution. “Mr. Racis a pseudo-secularist, who believes in only appeasing the Muslims,” alleged Bhave, who is also a member of a four-member cell constituted by the VHP to monitor the Governments efforts. The other members are Shirish Chand Dixit, the Vice-President of the VHP, Ashok Cowgule, and A.K.Chatterji a former IAS official from Bihar,

Bhave charged that all that the PM had done so far was to divide the religious leaders and activists aligned to the VHP. While refusing to identify them, he said that Rao had been sending feelers to Save prominent sadhus and manhunts, including those based in Ayodhya. “But they haven’t responded.”

Bhave said that the date for the resumption of the karseva would probably be finalized at a meeting of the temple renovation committee constituted by the Marg Darsak Mandal (the apex steering committee of the VHP) to be held in New Delhi on August 24.

The committee, be added, might even hold parleys with the PM soon thereafter to apprise him of its cause, and in the process create “psychological pressure,”

Bhave said that the second phase of the karseva would be preceded by an collaborate mass awakening campaign, whose highlight will be the desecration of the Shri Charan padukas (the wooden sandals worn by Rama).

Like the sklapujan worship of the bricks and the Ram jyoti vatris, that had preceded the shiknyas of 1989 and the kar seva of 1990 respectively, the countrywide paduka poojan is designed to whip upentiments in favor of the temple and enlist participation in the kar seva, “Unlike the program held last July, which only elicited participation from UP, this time kar sevas from all over the country will participate,” said Bhave. He claimed that their numbers might surpass the overwhelmingly massive congregation of 1990.

But in a departure from earlier campaigns, the padula poojan will commence in Ayodhya and the Mandi Gam Bhant Kund, near Faizabad on September 27, and then fan out into the country. Legend has it that Ramas brother, Bharat, had dwelt in Nandi Gram worshipping the hero’s scandals until his return from exile. Twelve thousand padukas will be sent all over the country from October 624, two days before Diwali.

The VHP leader was also confident that a major portion of the Shesh Avataar Lakshman temple would be constructed by Diwali. Astrologers had advised the VHP to elevate the lowering land to the west and south of the Ram temple, and, according to Bhave, the Lakshman temple. Which is being builton this site, fulfills the purpose. “The signs for resuming the construction of the Ram temple are, therefore, very auspicious this time around,” he said.

Bhave said that he foresaw every possibility of the Center either coming down heavily on the kar sevaks or dismissing the UP Government.

“We are prepared for a fight to the finish,” he claimed, adding that the modalities and strategies had been finalized in the presence of the BJP leaders both from the Center and UP at a recent meeting of the RSS.

Unlike in the past, the VHP leader made no attempt to camouflage the political intent of the agitation. “We are prepared for the downfall of the Kalyan Singh Government, because this will help a not only reinstating the BJP in UP, but several other states too. This is the way to capture power.”

Claiming that a majority of Hindus had braced themselves for a do-or-die battle “since there are no leaders like Gandhi and Nehru around .” Bhave warned the Muslim leadership to “lie low and let the VHP fulfill its goal.” Asked if the VHP would ensure that the Babri mosque was left untouched, Bhave replied, “Let us hope for the best and prepare ourselves for the worst.”

Working in tandem with the VHP, the UP unit of the BJP, which concluded its two day meeting in Samaran pur, passed a resolution iterating its commitment to build the temple. BJP President Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, who also attended the meeting, reportedly told journalists that the issue was outside the purview of the judiciary, and if necessary, the UP Government would introduce legislation “to overcome the remaining hurdles.”

Readying itself for an election, the resolution alleged that the other political parties made “issues out of non-issue” to overcome their own internal problems and isolate the BJP. “It is clearly the BJP versus the rest,” it stated,

In concrete terms, the UP Chief Minister will begin a hectic tour of the State to draw attention to the “achievements” of the Government impress its Commitment to the temple cause the extent to which it has lived up to it select oral slogan of Ram, roti, and in safe and focus on the “injustice” meted out by the Center.

Meanwhile, a 20-member delegation of Muslim leaders Jed by Maulana Abol Hasan Al Nadvi, the Chairman of the Muslim Personal Law Board and an eminent Islamic scholar, met the Prime Minister in Delhi on August 17.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 4, 1992