RSS slams BJP over Statue of Unity; questions government's inability to pass law for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya

Mumbai: Taking a dig at the BJP government, the RSS on Sunday wondered why an act cannot be passed for the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya while a huge statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel can be built in Gujarat. Addressing a public rally, senior Sangh leader Dattatreya Hosabale said through a separate bench has been formed by the Supreme Court, which is hearing the Ayodhya title suits, no decision has been taken yet on the pending issue. “If Sardar Patel’s statue can be erected on the banks of the Narmada river (in Gujarat), why an act cannot be passed to build a giant Ram temple?” questioned Hosabale, the Sah Sarkaryavaah or Joint General Secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). [caption id=“attachment_5221431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. PTI[/caption] He was speaking at a rally which was organised jointly by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and some regional religious outfits with an objective to mount pressure on the Centre for expediting construction of the Ram temple. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated an imposing 182-metre statue of the country’s first Home Minister, touted as the world’s tallest, on 31 October at Sadhu Bet near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district. “Former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao while speaking before the Supreme Court had stated that if the archaeological survey finds remains of a temple (at the site), the land would be made available for the temple. The excavation has found remains of the temple, but the court now says that this decision is not on its priority list,” Hosabale said. In his annual Vijaya Dashmi rally in Nagpur this October, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had demanded a law to pave the way for construction of the temple in Ayodhya. Hosabale said, “The SC has already formed a separate bench for the hearings on Ayodhya, still there has been no decision”. On 29 October, the apex court fixed the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute cases for the first week of January next year before an appropriate bench, which will decide the schedule of hearing. Many Hindu organisations have been demanding construction of the Ram temple, as promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before coming to power in 2014. The saffron party has said that it was committed to the construction of the temple, but was silent on bringing an ordinance in Parliament for the purpose. A three-judge bench of the Allahabad high court had in 2010 ordered that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land in Ayodhya be partitioned equally among three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. As many as 14 appeals were filed against the high court judgment.