Sant Samiti 'directs' govt to bring legislation or ordinance for construction of Ram temple

The Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti, an umbrella body of Hindu seers, Sunday "directed" the government to bring in a legislation or an ordinance to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

A two-day conclave of the Samiti, which saw participation of over 3,000 seers from across the country, deliberated on a number of issues, including a central legislation for cow protection, cleaning of the Ganga river and construction of the Ram Temple.

"We direct the government to either bring in a law or an ordinance (for the construction of the Ram temple). There will be no compromise on this," Ramanandacharya Hansdevacharya, the patron of the organisation, said in his concluding remarks of the conclave.

He also announced that the 'sant samiti' would hold religious conclaves in Ayodhya, Nagpur and Bengaluru on November 25, to be followed by one in Delhi on December 9.

Former BJP MP and working president of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Ram Vilas Vedanti, however, did not favour enacting a law or promulgating an ordinance to facilitate the Ram temple construction, saying this would lead to communal riots.

"The matter should be sorted out through mutual consensus as the court will not be able to give any decision on the issue for the next 10 lakh years," he said.

The demand for a law for construction of the Ram temple has been growing after the Supreme Court last month said an "appropriate bench" would decide in the first week of January the schedule for hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had on Monday pressed for the construction of the temple, saying it would lead to an atmosphere of "goodwill and harmony" in the country.

The Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti (ABSS) also batted for the re-election of the BJP in the general elections next year.

"We are very hurt that there has been no resolution to the Ram Mandir issue, but we are satisfied with the Central government's work for the country, religion, culture and national security," said the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti in its list of "directives" to the government.

The ABSS said people should vote for those who protect "Gai (cow), Ganga and Govind (god)".

The organisation also demanded a central legislation for cow protection.

To ensure that there is an uninterrupted and continuous flow of Ganga, a law should be enacted for the protection of the river, it said.

Justifying the rechristening of Allahabad as Prayag, the Sant Samiti also demanded changing of the name of Delhi to Indraprastha.

It also sought early completion of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam and said the Centre should assert diplomatic pressure on Bangladesh to take back their illegal migrants to India.

An appeal was also made to citizens to identify Rohingyas and inform the security agencies about them.

The ABSS also demanded a Uniform Civil Code and a 'National Population Policy' to control the "imbalance" of population.

Giving a call to unite the Hindu society, Hansdevacharya said it was necessary to bring together Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and people of other sects of Hinduism.

Terming NOTA as an "insult" to democracy, ABSS appealed to the people to choose their candidates.

Speaking on the Sabarimala issue, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the head of 'Art of Living' said he was confident that the Supreme Court would look into the public sentiments and do a rethink on its decision.

In a landmark decision last month, the apex court had allowed entry of women in the Kerala shirne, a move that has led to violent protests in the state.