As the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)'s 'Dharma Sabha' commenced amid heavy security in Ayodhya, the gathered saints and seers reposed their faith in the government of the day and exhorted PM Modi to do whatever was needed to build the temple without waiting for the court order.
Uttar Pradesh police have been on their toes and have been monitoring the processions in Ayodhya. The gathering is the largest in the town since 1992, when thousands of Kar Sevaks had razed the Babri Masjid.
More than 100 prominent Hindu seers, including Mahant Ravindra Puri, Mahant Suresh Das of the Digambar Akhada, head of the Ram Janmabhoom Trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Jagatguru Ramanadcharya Hansdevacharya from Haridwar, Jagatguru Ramanandacharya Swami Ram Bhadracharya, Swami Gyananad Giri from Odisha are a part of the religious congregation.
The Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has also arrived in the temple town on Saturday in Ayodhya to participate in the event. On Saturday, Thackeray set the tone for by seeking the BJP-led Central government to declare a 'date' for temple construction.
Also Read:
Follow the live updates of the Dharma Sabha here:
The Dharma Sabha commenced with a speech from Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Vice President Champat Rai. He said that this huge congregation comes after 26 years of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said he will visit the temple town on Monday to urge the authorities to ensure that the rule of law prevails. [READ MORE]
Ramji Das of Nirmohi Akhara said: "The date for construction of the Ram temple will be declared in the 2019 Kumbh which will be held in Prayagraj". [READ HERE]
Ramji Das of Nirmohi Akhara said: "The date for construction of the Ram temple will be declared in the 2019 Kumbh which will be held in Prayagraj".
Expressing hope that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is in Ayodhya, would get the blessings of Lord Ram, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the Sena, which is its ally at the Centre and in Maharashtra, will remain its partner for the Maharashtra and the Lok Sabha polls due next year.
"The construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya is not a political issue. Shri Ram is the deity for entire India, Thackeray would get his blessings too," Fadnavis told reporters at Karad in Maharashtra's Satara district. [PTI]
I've not appeared in SC b/w Jan-Nov'18. When matter came up in October, CJI said this is not priority. So, does PM have courage to make statement against judiciary. This only shows PM wants to rake this up for purposes of election, for making political capital out of it: K Sibal pic.twitter.com/CPuogELJ7e
— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2018
Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) chief Yadav said he urged the Uttar Pradesh governor to ensure that the law and order is maintained at all costs so that a repeat of what happened in 1992 is avoided. [READ HERE]
The gathered seers and saints reposed faith in the government of the day and exhorted the Prime Minister to do whatever was needed to build the temple without waiting for the court order.
Shiv Sena on Sunday said that re-alliance with BJP for 2019 general elections will happen only if the Modi government takes 'concrete' steps for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Mahamandelshwar Parmanand Maharaj seeks an ordinance for temple construction and urges Muslim parties to hand over the land to Hindus for peaceful coexistence.
The saints at the Dharma Sabha exhort activists to create public awareness about constructing the Ram Temple. "We will have to identify those who were putting obstacles in the path of temple construction," they say further asking people to write to the apex court to get the order expedited, reports TNIE correspondent from Lucknow Namita Bajpai.
Meanwhile, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address VHP's 'hunkar rally' in Nagpur over the Ram Temple matter later in the day, reports ANI.
Heavy deployment of Central Armed Police Forces, Provincial Armed Constabulary, Anti-Terrorism Squad has been done. Drone cameras being used to assess crowd. Thirteen parking spots have been designated, 2000 buses from various places have come to Ayodhya: ADG to ANI
Ayodhya has been divided into zones. Security scheme has been implemented. Red zone and yellow zone are two main security zones. State govt, state police and administration are committed to uphold the directions by the Supreme Court and High Court: ADG (law and order) Anand Kumar pic.twitter.com/rAfKIfERpe
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 25, 2018
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge while attacking the Shiv Sena said, "Everyone's going there due to elections.Who stopped Uddhav Thackeray from going there in past 4-5 years? On one hand, they're friends with BJP and on the other they want to tell people they're interested in constructing the Ram temple and are pressurising the government. People won't be befooled."
The temple was demolished four times before 1992, but they could not break the determination of the Hindu society. Whatever the saints decide for the temple construction, the RSS will abide by it, Krishna Gopal further added.
Krishna Gopal Sahsanghsahkary in his address while picking up threads from the 1992 temple movement said, "temple was connected with life and death of Hindus. It's just a symbolic congregation which expresses that hindus can go to any extent for the temple cause."
Earlier today, The UP Deputy CM disapproved of the Shiv Sena's push for constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying the party had no role in the temple movement. Read more
RSS pracharak and a businessman based in Pratapgarh Siyaram Gupta has donated a cheque of Rs 1 crore to VHP for temple construction.
