RSS brings up Ram Janmabhoomi again: Ram Temple will be true tribute to Ashok Singhal, says Mohan Bhagwat

“We have to make serious attempts to accomplish the Ram temple and that will be a true tribute to him,” said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a condolence meeting for VHP patron Ashok Singhal on Sunday in New Delhi. Bhagwat recalled his last meeting with Singhal last month and was quoted as saying: “Ashokji during my meeting had shared his two resolves — of building the Ram temple at Ram Janmabhoomi and spreading Vedic wisdom in the world. If we have to accomplish the resolve of Ashokji, we have to take a pledge today to make his resolve ours. We have to make serious attempts to accomplish the Ram temple and that will be a true tribute to him. Ashokji’s spirit will guide us in this task. We have to keep moving and working on the path shown by Ashokji and in the coming few years we hope to work towards accomplaishing his dream of Ram temple.” Former VHP president Ashok Singhal, an engineer by education and a trained classical singer, became a nationally known figure for spearheading an emotive campaign against the 16th century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya that was eventually razed in 1992. It was a watershed event in independent India, one that shook the country’s secular foundations, led to unprecedented Hindu-Muslim riots and virtually rewrote the political discourse. [caption id=“attachment_2517922” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat speaks during the condolence meeting of former VHP president Ashok Singhal in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI[/caption] Although the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) immensely profited from the mosque destruction, taking power in 1996 and then in 1998, the man who was the architect of the campaign was Singhal, an unapologetic Hindutva votary whose only mission was to transform India into a “Hindu Rashtra”, IANS’ said in their report. It is interesting to note, however, that last month at Singhal’s 89th birthday, neither BJP leader and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh nor Mohan Bhagwat mentioned the issue of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Reports were afloat in the media that maybe Singhal’s dream of Ram Temple will be a distant dream since none of the BJP bigwigs mentioned the issue. However, Rajnath Singh hailed the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as one of the most momentous in independent India. “The aura I witnessed during his (Singhal) speeches at the time of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement is visible even today,” The Indian Express quoted Singh as saying. With Narendra Modi’s accession to the post of the Prime Minister, speculations were rife that RSS might push for their three most controversial issues — The Ram Temple in Ayodhya, abolition of Article 370 of the Constitution and Common Civil Code. However, till last month there was no mention of any of this until Bhagwat brought up the issue during the condolence meet in Delhi. Former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, “Ram is Bharat. Bharat is Ram. Ashokji’s dream is incomplete without the construction of the Ram Temple,” he said. “If you want to develop Bharat, then Ram temple would also have to be set up. Ashok_ji_ was never communal or divisive and sought to unify people. It is considered divisive these days to talk about Ram temple. We can confidently say that Bharat was a Vishwaguru and will be one … But, a confused country cannot move forward. To call it divisive is against our country’s tradition,” PTI quoted Joshi as saying. During the meeting, former VHP president Vishnu Hari Dalmia set the tone for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, saying it would be a true tribute to Singhal, who dedicated his entire life for Hindutva and spearheaded the Ram Janambhoomi movement. He called upon Bhagwat to press upon the government for early construction of the temple. VHP international working president Pravin Togadia called for passage of a law in Parliament for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya on the lines of Somnath temple. “The central government should pass an act in Parliament to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya, It will be a fitting tribute to Ashok Singhal,” he said, adding that Singhal was committed for elimination of untouchability and caste bias. BJP president Amit Shah who specially flew back to Delhi for the condolence meeting after casting his vote in civic polls in Ahmedabad, said the demise of Ashok Singhal was an irreparable loss to the Sangh Parivar and nation. He was the architect as well as leader of the biggest mass movement of India after Independence, he said. With inputs from agencies