At massive Delhi rally, VHP demands bill on Ram Temple in winter session of Parliament

After four and a half years of hibernation, the right-wing outfit Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in association with the ruling party’s ideological patriarch, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), held a massive rally at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan to push for the early construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. At the rally, which was also attended and addressed by RSS’ executive head Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi, the VHP demanded a bill on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament starting Tuesday.

“It will be a massive gathering which will change the hearts of all those who are not in favour of bringing the bill for construction of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” VHP’s spokesperson Vinod Bansal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Addressing the rally, RSS leader ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi invoked the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition and said that the “work was left incomplete.” He said that those in power should listen to people and fulfil their demand of a grand Lord Ram Temple at the disputed land in Ayodhya.

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Joshi said that the ruling party at the Centre had promised construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. And now, “there is no other option available than enacting a law on Ram Mandir. The BJP should fulfil its commitment,” he said.

The construction of Ram Temple has been one of the big promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014. However, the title suit of Ayodhya case is pending in the Supreme Court, which is expected to name a date for the beginning of the hearing in January 2019. But, with 2019 general elections approaching and the construction of the temple on hold for over two decades, the VHP and other right-wing organisations are demanding the government to bypass the legal procedure and bring an ordinance for temple building.

Earlier last month, the VHP had organised a massive “Dharma Sabha” in Ayodhya and warned the government of another “movement” if the construction of Ram Temple doesn’t start at the earliest. A religious leader, Swami Rambhadracharya, who had attended the Dharma Sabha had claimed that a Union minister has told him that a decision on Ram Temple will be taken by the Narendra Modi government after December 11.

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On Friday, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had said that he will topple the Narendra Modi government at Centre and Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh if they tried to oppose him in the Supreme Court when the hearing on Ayodhya title suit begins.

"If our matter (Ram temple) is listed in January, we will win it in two weeks. Because my two opposing parties are the central government and Uttar Pradesh government. Do they have the guts to oppose me? If they do, I will topple the government. Though I know that they won't do it," ANI had quote Swamy as saying.