Hindus insulted, says Sangh, urges court to revise order, says it may start 1992-like agitation for Ayodhya cause
Observing that Hindus in the country felt “insulted” over remark made by the Supreme Court while postponing Ram Mandir hearing to January that it had its own priorities, the RSS on Friday urged the apex court to reconsider its priority on the “sensitive” issue and said if needed, it would launch a 1992-like agitation to demand construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Addressing a news conference at the end of a three-day All India Working Committee at Uttan Thane district, RSS’ general secretary Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi expressed dissatisfaction over the inordinate delay in a judicial verdict over the Ram Mandir issue. Responding to a specific question if the RSS would launch a 1992-like agitation to demand the construction of Ram Mandir, Joshi said, “Avashyakta padi to karenge (If need be, we will launch an agitation).
“We were expecting some good news about the Ram Mandir before the Diwali. But, the Supreme Court refused to hear the Ram Mandir case and also postponed the hearing indefinitely. The Supreme Court has powers to decide on legal matters like this. I don’t want to talk about its jurisdiction. When the apex court was asked when it would fix the date for start of hearing, the Judge said the apex court has different priorities. This remark has caused anguish among crores of Hindus in the country,” Joshi said.
“The Hindu community feels insulted about the manner in which the Judge sought to respond to a query regarding an issue that involves the faith of crores of Hindus. The fact that an issue which involves the faith of crores of Hindus does not fit into the priorities of the Supreme Court is surprising, anguishing and we as Hindus feel insulted. Hence, we urge the court not to treat the issue like this but reconsider it and change its priorities so as to expedite matters relating to the litigation,” Joshi said.
Replying to a question, Joshi said the RSS had never disrespected the judicial pronouncements. “We are among those who believe in the Constitution. While we respect the judiciary, it also becomes the responsibility of the courts to respect the sentiments of the people. That’s what we expect. We are not saying anything about the verdicts by the court. All we are asking the Supreme Court to give priority to the Ram Mandir issue,” RSS general secretary said.
Joshi said it is for the Government to decide when to come out with an Ordinance or a Bill to acquire the disputed land and hand it over for the construction of Ram Mandir. “We understand that till the Supreme Court does not decide on the issue, even the Government has its own difficulty in taking decisions (in matters relating to promulgation of Ordinance or introduction of a bill in Parliament),” he said.
Asked as to why the BJP had not resolved the Ram Mandir issue despite having been in power at the Centre for three terms since 1992 and why it revived the issue during elections, Joshi said, “It is not question of our putting pressure on the Government. Things are decided on consensus. The Government functions balancing the issues relating to Constitution and sentiments of the people. All the Governments have so far waited for a verdict from the courts. If we (the Government) were among those who did not respect the courts, we would have enacted law to facilitate construction of Ram Mandir a long ago.”
Friday was the third occasion during the last three days when the RSS upped the ante on the Ram Mandir issue.
On Wednesday, RSS Joint General Secretary Manmohan Vaidya had mounted pressure on the Narendra Modi Government on the Ram Mandir issue, by saying that the Centre should enact a law to acquire the land and hand it over for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.
“Ram temple is a matter of national pride and glory. Just like Sardar Patel got Somnath temple rebuilt, the Government should acquire the land and hand over it for Ram temple construction.
The Government should make law for that,” Vaidya had said.
On Thursday, RSS functionary and BJP’s nominated member to the Rajya Sabha Rakesh Sinha said he would move a Private Member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha demanding the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. On their part, four BJP MPs Gopal Shetty, Udit Raj, Roopa Ganguly, and Kirit Somaiya have already pledged their support for this private bill.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the sidelines of the organisation’s RSS executive meet.
Confirming that Shah did meet Bhagwat the executive meeting venue, RSS’ general secretary Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi refused to go into details of what transpired at the meeting between the BJP president and RSS chief.
“The matters that get discussed in this kind of meetings will remain private. I don’t think it is essential to tell you as to what transpired at the meeting. Yes. They discussed in detail about the Ram Mandir issue. You will get to know the outcome at a later stage,” Joshi said.