Lord Ram is back at the centrestage of saffron politics. An upbeat BJP and RSS on Thursday said the Allahabad high court’s verdict on Ayodhya had paved the way for the construction of a “magnificent Ram temple” at the disputed site. Both RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, who was the architect of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, also appealed for restraint and said the verdict had opened a “new chapter of reconciliation” in the country.
VHP international general secretary Pravin Togadia, who “saluted” and welcomed the verdict, however, demanded that the temple be built across the entire area of the site. He too appealed for peace and calm.
Evoking the name of “Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram”, Mr Bhagwat said on Thursday evening that the Ram temple movement was “not a reactionary one... nor is it against any particular community”. Armed securitymen earlier surrounded the RSS’ New Delhi headquarters at Jhandewala since the morning, and gun-toting policemen could be seen perched on the rooftop.
The RSS chief, taking the “opportunity to heartily and affectionately call upon countrymen, including Muslims”, exhorted everyone “to forget all ill-will and hard feelings... of past decades” and welcome the judicial verdict. He urged people to become “active collaborators in organising the constitutional and practical means to build a magnificent temple.”
Mr L.K Advani, who had led the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the ’80s-90s, reaping rich electoral rewards for the BJP, said: “It is a significant step forward towards construction of a grand temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram.”
Echoing the RSS line, he added that the “verdict opens a new chapter for national integration and a new era of inter-community relations.” He said the “expert opinion of the Archaeological Survey of India and other agencies engaged by it has clearly opined that there were remains of a Hindu religious structure where the disputed structure stood.”
The RSS chief said the verdict “should not be seen by society as a victory for one group or defeat for the other”. Sending a clear signal to Sangh activists, he said: “Our joy and happiness should find expression in a controlled, peaceful manner ... within the limits of the law and the Constitution, and provocation must be avoided.” This was also “an excellent opportunity to rise above all past experiences in the spirit of our tolerant and inclusive national culture, and strive to organise our diverse, multilingual and multi-religious society into a united... disciplined and conflict-free one inspired by a grand and sacred vision.”