RSS Echoes VHP, Will Put Off Ram Temple Stir Till After 2019 Polls

Bhagwat also reiterated his stand that Ram Temple will be built as per the ‘dharma sansad’ held at Kumbh recently.

Mohan Bhagwat said that RSS will suspend its Ram temple stir for four months, till the Lok Sabha elections are over.

(Photo: PTI)

Echoing the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) stand, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday, 6 February, said that the Sangh will not take up the issue of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya for four months, till the Lok Sabha elections are over.

Bhagwat, while addressing a closed-door interaction at RSS’ Dehradun office, also responded to several questions ranging from Ram temple and religious discrimination to caste-based reservations, The Times of India reported.

On the temple, Bhagwat reiterated his stand that it will be built as per the ‘dharma sansad’ held at Kumbh recently, the report added.

The RSS chief’s stand came just a day after the VHP had put out a similar statement.

The VHP on Tuesday had said that its campaign for building the Ram temple had been suspended till the general elections were over, as the Hindutva organisation does not want it to become an election issue.

The VHP, which has spearheaded the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, has been running a campaign across the country for the past several months, demanding a law in Parliament for building the Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

As part of the campaign, the VHP had held rallies across the country, and met parliamentarians across party lines.

The announcement came just days after a religious congregation called by the VHP at Prayagraj, on the sidelines of the Kumbh, adopted a resolution saying Hindus will not rest and also not leave others in peace until a grand temple is built at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

The general elections are expected to be held by May.

(With inputs from The Times of India, PTI)