VHP to Sonia: Fulfil Rajiv’s Ram Rajya wish

Asserting that a dialogue among political parties is the only way for Parliament to initiate the process of bringing a legislation on construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi to “fulfil” the wish of her late husband Rajiv Gandhi of bringing “Ram Rajya” in the country.

The Sangh Parivar affiliate also expressed confidence that a “grand Ram Mandir’ will become a reality during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure. A delegation of saints is also likely to meet the PM on the issue soon.

Reminding Mrs Gandhi that the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had in 1989 promised to usher in “Ram Rajya” while launching the election campaign from Faizabad, VHP’s Surendra Jain said the Congress president should now fulfil her late husband’s wish by initiating the dialogue process to bring a legislation in Parliament on the issue.

The VHP will also be organising “Ramotsavs” in more than one lakh villages across the country from Ram Navami and rejected suggestions that Mandir issue is again in prominence because of the 2017 Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had earlier this week claimed that work on Ram Mandir would start before this year-end and an action plan would be unveiled at a conference here on January 9.

Sounding confident that the Mandir will be constructed during Mr Modi’s tenure as the PM, the senior VHP leader claimed that Atal Behari Vajpayee government could not repeat its term as it failed to fulfil on the Mandir promise. Though Dr Jain predicted that Mr Modi, whom he called a “man for long innings”, will govern the country for 15 years, he also cautioned that the PM did not get only the “development votes” but also “votes for Ram Mandir”.

“Modiji is a smart politician. He is aware that people who are pushing for the temple are also responsible for his victory as well as those who want development. He will respect their sentiments,” he said.

The VHP leader claimed that saints and right wing leaders have met over 500 former and present Lok Sabha members seeking their support for the cause. He also said that legislation on Rammandir is “important” to see that the temple takes shape as approaching courts in this regard will be time consuming with disgruntled parties in the matter exploring legal options for favourable results.