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VHP to hold programmes to 'celebrate' SC verdict on Ram temple

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Press Trust of India Ahmedabad

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)

on Wednesday said it would celebrate its "victory" in the Ram temple case in the Supreme Court by organising various programmes at over 200 places in the country between March 25 to April 8.

The right-wing organisation also urged the Centre to take strict action against those indulging in riots "against the Hindu community" in Delhi.

In November last year, the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of Ram temple by a Trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

 

The Centre had last month constituted an independent 15-member trust to oversee the construction of the temple.

"After a long-drawn fight spearheaded by the VHP, the Supreme Court ruled in our favour. Now when the Centre has formed an independent trust, we hope that a grand Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya soon," VHP general secretary Milind Parande told reporters here.

"We will organise massive celebrations from March 25 to April 8 for the SC verdict in favour of Ram temple. We will take out big rathyatras, organise felicitation programmes for those who had taken part in kar seva of 1992 and 1994, and hold functions in over 200 places during that period," he said.

When asked if the VHP will go ahead with its planned programmes despite the coronavirus scare, Parande said all the functions will be held after taking necessary health precautions.

On the ongoing stirs against the new citizenship law at Shaheen Bagh and the violence in Delhi, the VHP leader said the protests have turned "anti-Hindu" and many Hindus have lost their lives in the riots in the national capital.

"Many political leaders are going to protest sites like Shaheen Bagh and holding rallies to target Hindus in the name of CAA," he said.

"A small fry like Waris Pathan has the guts to say that some number of Muslims can finish Hindus...We urge the central and state governments to take strict action against such elements, be it rioters or those who incite violence," Parande said.

He was referring to the '15 crore Muslims can be heavy on 100 crore' remark recently made in Karnataka by Pathan, an AIMIM leader.

"The Hindu community has been fighting such terrorists and radical elements since the past many centuries- from the first attack by the Islamic forces in India till today...and has always defeated or gobbled them up," he said.

Hailing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) as a "very good step", he said, "We would like to say that no Indian Muslim will be affected by it."

"VHP estimates that around three crore Hindus, Sikhs and members of some other religions will be benefited by the CAA. Before the amended legislation, VHP had worked hard to give citizenship under the old law to 8,500 Hindus, who had come from Pakistan. Now, we will help all the others who are left out to get citizenship," he said.

The VHP general secretary also warned the Congress dispensation in Madhya Pradesh and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra against giving reservation on religious basis to Muslims, calling it as "unconstitutional".

Parande also said that the AAP government in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Reddy should stop giving hefty salary to Muslim clerics from the tax-payers money.

According to him, the VHP registered over 30 lakh members across the country during its recent membership drive.

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First Published: Mar 04 2020 | 8:50 PM IST

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