LUCKNOW: There seems to be race among right wing organisations to hijack the temple issue by making Uttar Pradesh a battlefield to project themselves as the lone agitator for Ram temple. While on one hand, the RSS, at its six-day workshop in Varanasi, is busy thrashing out a strategy to make its upcoming 'Janagrah rallies' in support of temple a grand success, on the other, the rift between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Shiv Sena has come out in open over the issue.
According to sources, Sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat is huddled with over 250 senior activists and a number of swayam sewaks in Varanasi to chalk out a course of action for mobilising support for its janagrah rally and VHP's proposed Dharam Sabha simultaneously at Ayodhya, Bengaluru and Nagpur in November 25. Besides, the Sangh is gearing up to increase the pressure on the Centre to enact the law and start construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya before 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The RSS top brass is believed to have directed the cadre to mobilise public opinion in favour of the temple in the days to come. The RSS chief himself had kicked up the dust by making a fervent appeal on Dussehra eve to the Union government to follow the legislative route to temple construction in Ayodhya.
While the VHP is gearing up for its Dharam Sabha inviting all Ram Bhakts in Ayodhya on Novemebr 25, its president Vishnu Kokaje had recently questioned the relevance of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thakre's visit to the temple town the same day.
The Shiv Sena has taken an exception to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) holding a programme in Ayodhya on the same date. The Sena chief will be reaching the temple town on November 24. He has plans to meet and felicitate over 100 saints of Ayodhya on that day and address a rally next day.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who has been frequenting Ayodhya to oversee the arrangements for Thakre's visit, claimed that Shiv Sena had announced its Ayodhya plans on Dusshera while the VHP chose the same date much later.
Taking a pot shot at the VHP leadership, Raut said that the VHP should know that the temple would not be constructed through Dharam Sabhas and collecting crowds.
The political observers view a political motive behind Uddhav Thakre's visit to Ayodhya and Sena's revived temple narrative. "Sena, which has been at loggerheads with its age-old ally, the ruling BJP, in Maharashtra, possibly wants to measure the political turf of UP in a bigger way this time around. It wants to target those in the majority community who are unhappy with the ruling party," a political commentator said.
On Tuesday, Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut had exhorted the Centre to bring a law for construction of the temple in Ayodhya and had claimed that the ordinance would get support of no less than 400 MPs, including from the Shiv Sena, BJP and also the Congress. However, on VHP's plans to mobilise Ram Bhakts, Sena leaders feel that mere rhetoric would not fetch results.
In a retort to Sena, the local leaders of VHP claim that their programme was decided in Delhi last month at a high powered meeting of the organisation and the crowds at Dharam Sabha will make Shiv Sena eat the crow, as it has been lying low over the temple issue all this long and has suddenly woken up to it in a bid to meddle in UP politics. However, local BJP leaders also backed the VHP dharam sabha.