The two-day meeting of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)’s Margdarshak Mandal, which was held at Prayagraj last weekend, has decided to keep the organisation’s focus on the Kashi and Mathura issues and to “reclaim” them through the legal route. While the issue of Hindu rights over Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal was also raised by some seers during the meeting, the VHP has decided not to take it up.
“The Margdarshak Mandal Baithak focused on freeifng temples from government control and the issues of Kashi and Mathura. Some saints may have some opinions which we respect. But it was decided in the meeting to focus on reclaiming Kashi (Gyanvapi mosque) and Mathura (Idgah mosque) as decided in the 1984 resolution of the VHP,” VHP president Alok Kumar told The Indian Express.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said it was decided in the meeting that the Kashi and Mathura disputes would be resolved legally through the courts.
The VHP Margadarshak Mandal is a group of around 350 seers who provide “mentorship” to the organisation affiliated to the RSS. The issues marked for action in the Margadarshak Mandal meeting becomes the guiding light for the VHP whose Board of Trustees clears their execution. This time, the VHP’s Board of Trustees meeting is slated for February.
The development seems to be a reassertion of the point that the Sangh Parivar aims to maintain a distance over the Sambhal row. It also comes in the wake of different stances taken in the Sangh Parivar camp over such rows. While RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had last month cautioned against claiming Hindu rights over various Muslim mosques or shrines recurrently, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has flagged Sambhal along with Kashi and Mathura for making such claims.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.
