The VHP Thursday said that the rising number of petitions claiming Hindu right over Muslim monuments could be a result of the anger among Hindus over Muslim community’s failure to hand over disputed sites in Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi to the Hindus voluntarily.
The organisation, however, said that Mohan Bhagwat’s cautionary words on such petitions should be understood in full context. “In 1984, a Dharm Sansad had been organised. It was said ‘Give us these three (Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura) and there will be no noise on other issues.’ It is almost 2025 now. That what was proposed in 1984 has not materialised may have led to certain situations. So, the anger visible in society is probably among the important reasons,” VHP general secretary Milind Parande said.
On Bhagwat’s statement, Parande said, “Earlier, Mohan Bhagwat ji had spoken about Kashi and Mathura and his (latest) statement should be understood in that context.”
When asked to comment on certain statements by some Hindu religious figures that have run contrary to Bhagwat’s advice, Parande told The Indian Express, “We don’t comment on saints.”
On December 19, at an event in Pune, Bhagwat underlined that Ram Temple in Ayodhya was a “matter of faith” for Hindus, but asserted that it was “unacceptable” to rake up “such new issues on a daily basis” simply because of “extreme hatred, malice, enmity and suspicion”.
Since the statement, some Hindu religious figures have said that the Sangh must not tell the Hindu society what to do.
Speaking on government control of temples, Parande said, “We are going to start a countrywide public awareness campaign in this regard from January 5, 2025. The call for this campaign will be given in a special and huge gathering of lakhs of people called ‘Haindava Shankhaaraavam’ to be organized in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.”
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
