India Tomorrow
New Delhi, Dec 1: Two shows of Sangh Parivar in the name of Ram Temple have flopped in one week. The first was in Ayodhya on November 25 and the second in Delhi today – December 1.
RSS on Saturday launched Sankalp Yatra in Delhi to push for the early construction of the Ram temple on the disputed site in Ayodhya. After nine days of nationwide tour, the yatra will culminate into a gathering at Ramlila Ground in the national capital. For today’s inaugural at RSS headquarters in the city, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the saffron group, had claimed to gather thousands of people. But hardly about 100 people could attend the inaugural.
Shrugging off the poor showing at the inaugural, Manch’s co-convenor Kamal Tewari said, “These are just a few karyakartas (activists) from a particular segment. Soon, they will be joined by another 100-200 karyakartas from a different segment. There are hundreds of karyakartas from different segments who will join us eventually.” But he claimed that around 6-8 lakh people will attend the program at Ramlila Maidan on the final day of the event on December 9.
Interestingly, in the city on Friday more than 50,000 farmers had gathered to press their demands for loan waiver and fair price for crops.
On November 25, Vishwa Hindu Parishad or VHP had organized a ‘Dharma Sabha’ in Ayodhya town of Uttar Pradesh to vow construction of Ram Temple on the disputed site. Despite weeks of massive nationwide campaigning and supportive TV debates on the issue round-the-clock, only some thousands of people could attend the event. VHP had claimed to gather more than two lakh people.
Since the Supreme Court of India deferred the hearing in the title suit of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case last month, Sangh Parivar, including RSS and BJP have gone on offensive drive to force the central government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring a law or ordinance for construction of the Ram temple.
Earlier, commenting on the Ayodhya flop show of VHP, Muslim organizations had applauded peace-loving Hindus and tolerant Muslims.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed it a “flop show” and gave credit for this to peace-loving Hindus and Muslims.
“Peace-loving Hindus and tolerant Muslims made the “show” in Ayodhya flop,” tweeted AIMPLB Monday evening.
“They reassured their confidence in the SC and the law and order. We need to focus on development while the court hears the case,” said Maulana Wali Rahmani, General Secretary of AIMPLB.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) also expressed “satisfaction at the peaceful conclusion of the gathering” assembled by various organizations in Ayodhya.
“We are relieved at the peaceful conclusion of the gathering called by various organizations in Ayodhya. Initially there was apprehension that the large gathering may turn unruly and violent and may result in an unpleasant situation. However, those fears proved unfounded and credit must go to the people of this country for not giving into exploitation of their religious sentiments by certain forces who wish to misuse religion for their political benefit,” said Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari, Ameer (President) of Jamaat in a statement last week.
“We hope that the people of this country continue on this path of peace and harmony and do not give any response to calls for violence and breaking the law over matters related to faith and creed. The response to calls by Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray for doing ‘dharna’ till the Ram temple is constructed has been extremely lackadaisical”, he said.
