Keeping the controversy over construction of statue of Nathuram Godse aglow, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) has proposed to construct a temple of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin in Sitapur district.
ABHM will construct the temple at Siddhauli’s Para village and the construction is likely to begin after Februrary 15. Earlier, the party had proposed to start construction on January 30, the day Gandhi was shot dead but as the day is being observed as ‘Shaurya Diwas’, the date has been extended. Working president of Hindu Mahasabha’s, Uttar Pradesh chapter, Kamlesh Tiwari said that the ‘Bhumi pujan’ for the Godse temple where statue will be installed would be performed by renowned saints, who will be in Naimisharanya where yagya will be held. “It would be an elaborate programme. At least 1000 hawans will be set up where thousands of Brahmins will perform the rite,” he said. Tripathi said that Godse’s urn, kept in Pune, would be brought to Sitapur through a ‘kalash yatra’. The urn is presently with the Maharastra unit of the Mahasabha.
The land, the where the temple will be constructed belongs to Tiwari himself. Earlier in this place, ABHM had proposed a Bharat Mata Temple but now they have shelved the idea and was going ahead in setting up a Godse temple. Along with Godse, the Mahasabha also plans to install statues of another ‘national’ hero, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Savarkar was once president of Hindu Mahasabha and had advocated reconversion (or ghar wapsi) of converted Hindus.