Speaking on the long-dragging Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid tangle, Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati of Jyotir and Dwarka peeths said on Tuesday that the Muslim brothers should stop being misled by some Hindu leaders who are harping on the site as belonging to the Muslims, eyes fixed on their votes. “I for one am ready to extend all kinds of assistance, including financial, to the Muslims for constructing a Masjid elsewhere than the Ram Janmabhoomi site,” the seer said.
Speaking to The Pioneer, the Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati said, “For the past many years, the Muslim brothers are being misled by the political leaders. They must be wary of such sly leaders. They must understand that they are being cheated ,” he said. He specifically mentioned Mulayam Singh Yadav, saying that he had done nothing in the direction of re-building a Masjid in the site over all these years despite being voluble on the matter.
He further said that he was not averse to the construction of a masjid. “But they must stop insisting on the masjid being built in the Ram Janmabhoomi site,” he said. He also cautioned the Muslims against being enmeshed by ISIS and others. “Some Muslims falling prey to their vicious net are blackening the collective face of the community,” he said, adding that Pakistan is the fount of terrorism.
On cow slaughter, he advised the Muslims not to indulge in the slaughter of cows not just in deference to the Hindu culture but for the survival of the humanity. “Muslims are just 25 crores. They must consider the sentiment of the majority community on the emotive matter,” said the seer.
He also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to stop cow slaughter. “Besides, he must ensure that the people get good milk and to do that he must encourage breeding of the desi cows,” he said.