LUCKNOW: The clamour around the Ram temple which witnessed the congregation of around a lakh Ram devotees in the temple town last week in Ayodhya left behind a trail of differences not only among the right wing organisations but the groups of saints and seers also stood apart from each other over the issue.
Though united by the demand for a law or ordinance for temple construction in Ayodhya, they differed over the approach to address the issue with each other. Shiv Sena and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were at the loggerheads right from the beginning over the timing of their respective events – ‘Ashirwad Utsav and Dharam Sabha – in Ayodhya on Saturday and Sunday.
Both were seen competing with each other in keeping the temple temple pitch higher. Sena chief Uddhav Thakre, on one hand, did not shy away from taking jibes at Modi government and wound up his trip to temple town demanding the Centre to announce a date for commencement of temple construction, VHP followed a moderate and diplomatic approach.
The participants of dharma sabha reposed faith in Modi government, demanded it to bring a law for temple construction and and asked the Muslims to relinquish their claim over the land as any division formula of the birthplace would not be acceptable to the majority community.
The differences surfaced prominently when the seers at Param Dharam Sansad 1008 underway simultaneously in Varanasi hit out at the VHP’s dharma sabha calling it merely a political event and a posturing at BJP’s behest. Condemning the VHP, Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati took even more moderate approach when he said: “We want Lord Ram temple should be built without disturbing communal harmony. We do not want any dispute with anyone.”
The Shanakarcharya added that the VHP through Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya wanted to build a memorial while “we want to build a place for worship. Our existence is not based on hatred for Muslims. Those, who are organising Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya, are political people,” he asserted.
Similarly, Swami Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chavni of Ayodhya has handed out an ultimatum to the BJP- led Centre saying that he would immolate himself on December 6 if the government did not take any steps for Ram temple construction by December 5. It is being seen as an attempt to keep the issue alive as December 6 happens to be 26th anniversary of demolition of disputed structure by the frenzied kar sewaks in 1992.
Swami Paramhans Das had even prepared his pyre in Tapasvi Chavni on last Friday. On Sunday, he had reached the makeshift temple with a brick but was not allowed to take it in. He had told the media persons present that if “all VHP saints in dharma sabha had carried one brick each, at least a room for Lord Ram could have been built within hours.” The mahant was later put under house arrest the same day.
He slammed the VHP calling its Dharam Sabha as ‘Adharm Sabha’ which, he claimed, was organised at BJP’s behest so as to capitalise on it in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. “The VHP did not invite saints – I was not invited. The BJP had given money to VHP to invite saints. The BJP is more interested in returning to power in 2019 and for this, it is willing to go to any extent,” he said.
Swami Paramhans Das added that if the BJP wanted to take the credit for templeconstruction, then it should bring legislation without further delay. “Otherwise let the supreme court decide it,” he observed. He exhorted UP CM Yogi Adityanath to get the temple built as installation of statues won’t serve any purpose.