RSS lets Govt buy some time, defers construction date

The only other auspicious date related to Lord Ram is Vijaya Dashmi (marking Ram’s victory over Ravan), but since it falls during Chaturmas, it has been ruled out. Starting construction in April this year (on Ram Navami) will be too early for the VHP to complete preparations, Vaidya felt.

He also dismissed claims that the VHP may fix the date of construction during its dharma sansad but may not announce it for fear of inviting trouble for the NDA Government. “It is impossible for a decision taken jointly by over 400 persons to be kept secret,” he asserted.

The Sangh’s strategy is to build a people’s movement for construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya which should peak just before the date decided by the dharma sansad. It, however, could not be a mere coincidence that the UP Assembly elections too are scheduled to be held in March or April next year.

But Vaidya ruled out reconstruction of Babri Masjid at its original site. “No force on earth can construct the mosque on that site. It can be constructed at another convenient place,” he thundered.

Babri Masjid was not being treated as a mosque before 1934 and no prayers were being offered there, Vaidya claimed. The Religious Places Bill passed by the Narasimha Rao Government in 1993 prescribing status quo for all places of worship according to their 1947 status, had exempted the Ayodhya shrine from its ambit. In any case, there won’t be any change in the status quo since a temple would be replaced with another temple albeit a grander one, he said.

Vaidya claimed there was no confrontation between the RSS and the BJP because of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s `Musings’ since a negotiated settlement could be reached on Ayodhya or the court could deliver its verdict before the start of temple construction.

The RSS spokesman, who had returned from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur only four days ago, denied any pressure on the Sangh from the BJP to defer construction. “The Sangh is lending unstinted support to the VHP for temple construction and we won’t entertain any request to reconsider our decision,” he said.

A central office-bearer of the BJP, however, claimed that the party had not made any request to the VHP or the RSS to defer temple construction. The VHP leaders too maintained there was no pressure on them from the BJP. “We will abide only by the decision taken by the dharmacharyas at the dharma sansad at Allahabad,” said O.P.Singhal, Delhi state unit chief of the VHP.

Conceding that there were differences between the RSS and the BJP over Ayodhya, Vaidya claimed the two had similar perceptional differences over other issues as well like Kashmir, swadeshi and foreign affairs.