Seers oppose Uttar Pradesh govt's proposal to erect Lord Ram's statue on the banks of Sarayu river; call 'Dharma Sabha' 'politically-motivated'

Varanasi: A three-day “Param Dharma Sansad” was held in Varanasi, where seers opposed the Uttar Pradesh government’s proposal to install a 221-metre statue of Lord Ram on the bank of the Sarayu river in Ayodhya. [caption id=“attachment_4249175” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. Reuters[/caption] Terming the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) “Dharma Sabha”, organised on 25 November in Ayodhya, as a “politically-motivated event”, Dwarka-Sharda and Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati said Lord Ram should not be politicised, adding that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could only erect statues, but not build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. “The government can only erect statues, not build the temple,” he said, addressing the gathering at the event held at Seer Govardhan from 25 to 27 November. He said the government erected a huge statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat, but there was a need to build a temple for Lord Ram, not erect his statue as he was not a human being. Opposing the Yogi Adityanath government’s proposal to install a 221-metre statue of Lord Ram on the bank of the Sarayu, the Dwarka Peeth seer said it was an inappropriate step which was also against people’s faith. Advocating the cause of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Saraswati claimed that no mosque ever existed at Lord Ram’s birthplace in Ayodhya and that the structure demolished by “karsevaks” in 1992 was a temple and not a mosque. He said it was a propaganda that the Babri Masjid existed at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi site. He even said that he had seen with his eyes that a Ram temple existed in Ayodhya. Saraswati claimed that the Muslim community had failed to furnish any proof in the high court to confirm the existence of a mosque on the disputed site. The Dwarka Peeth seer said no political party would ever build the Ram temple but politicise the issue. He also claimed that the government was preparing to bring a law to encroach upon religious sites.