[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ram temple issue being strictly a matter of faith and not politics was a cloak that has now been discarded.

The meeting of ‘sants’ under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti (ABSS), with organisational backing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), openly and unequivocally called for re-electing Narendra Modi government and charting out a schedule for a series of meetings over the next few months.

The focus of mobilisation would naturally be Uttar Pradesh, the state where all projections show that in the event of a grand alliance of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, BJP and its allies would lose a number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019. With little to show by way of performance of Yogi Adityanath government and the Modi government at the Centre, too, fighting to divert focus from host of issues, the construction of the Ram temple, which was on the BJP’s 2014 manifesto, would “neturalise” controversies surrounding Rafale, the CBI, the impact of rising prices, the economic slowdown, the farmers’ agitation, among others, and bring the entire Hindu votebank under a single umbrella “Hindu Astha” – reported Asian Age citing BJP sources. Those in charge of the BJP’s propaganda cells have also been asked to “convince” the media of the “importance and sentimental value of the Hindu faith”.

The move for Ram temple construction could also help consolidate BJP’s core votebank in the poll-bound states, particularly in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the BJP’s electoral prospects were not quite bright.

A move to send a strong signal to start the construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site could bring back the voters disenchanted with BJP governments in these states. The ABSS — an umbrella organisation of over 3,000 Hindu monks and ascetics from 127 sects — on Sunday passed a resolution demanding that the government bring in a law or an ordinance for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Speculation was rife that Modi government could consider bringing in an ordinance and summoning a special Parliament session after the Parliament’s Winter Session, which is expected to begin in the second week of December – an Ordinance brought before the session would need to be ratified when the Parliament meets. Meanwhile BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha has stepped forward to bail the government out of any possible hassles in this regard and offered to introduce a private member’s Bill in Parliament, challenging Opposition parties to oppose it.

Leaders of BJP and its Sangh parivar affiliates have been issuing statements almost on a daily basis about growing impatience among people of the nation for construction of Ram temple without any further delay. To lend substance to it, plans have been chalked out for a series of programmes.

A statement issued by the ABSS said three large rallies would be held in Ayodhya, Nagpur and Bengaluru on November 25, culminating in a fourth in New Delhi on December 9 in support of a new law. “After this, meetings will be held in over 500 districts across the country,” the statement said.

“On Diwali this year, faithful devotees of Shri Ram should light lamps for the successful construction of a Ram temple,” said the statement. While the statement endorses the work of the Modi government over the issues of Dharma, culture, national security and self respect, it also says the monks are “upset” over the obstacles in the way of construction of a Ram temple.

The sants have declared the Supreme Court order “anti-temple”, and while calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi an “incarnate of Lord Ram”, the sadhus also appealed to followers and to Hindus in general to ensure that the Narendra Modi government returns to power in 2019. People should vote for those who have faith in “Gai, Ganga, Geeta, Gayatri and Govind”, they said.

Reading from the “dharmadesh” of sants on various issues, Samiti head Hansdevacharya said, “Agar jeevit rehna hai, math-mandir bachana hai, behen-beti bachani hai, sanskriti aur sanskar bachana hai to iss sarkar ko dobara se laana hai (If we have to protect our lives, temples and maths, daughters and sisters, culture and tradition, then this government must be brought back).”

The sants had expectations from the current government, which no other government could fulfill, he said. “Only this government will meet our expectations. Apna desh bhi bachao, apni sanskriti bhi bachao, aur phir se iss Bharat ke andar yahi sarkar ko 2019 me wapas lao, lao, lao… Jai Shri Ram (Save the country and its culture, bring back this government in 2019)!”

Hansdevacharya said the sants were hurt with the delay in clearing the path for the building of the Ram temple. “But at the same time, we are satisfied with the central government’s work related to the nation, religion, culture, national security, and national pride,” he said.

Sant Govindeo Giri of Pune said “certain forces” were trying to destabilise the government, and that a “conspiracy” against the government was afoot in Madhya Pradesh. “We should bear in mind while planning for the future that our central government should not be destabilised in any situation,” Giri said. The sants want the BJP-led government to return, he said.

The gathering called for the creation of a new “Teerthan Ministry” to promote pilgrimages, and to ensure that pilgrimage centres were not turned into tourism destinations. They also demanded a National Ganga River Act to protect the sacred river, and a “Gau Mantralaya” for the protection and conservation of cows.

The dharmadesh asked the government to identify and deport Rohingya Muslims. It demanded a Uniform Civil Code and a “national population policy” to control the “imbalance” in population, and a National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country to identify “illegal migrants” with 1947 as the reference year.

Earlier, Vasudevanand Maharaj, who presided over the two-day meet, demanded that the name Delhi, “given by Muslim rulers and the British”, should be changed to Indraprastha “as per our tradition”.

Separately, union minister Uma Bharti told PTI in an interview that while Hindus were the “most tolerant” people in the world, any talk of constructing a mosque on the periphery of a Ram temple in Ayodhya could make them “intolerant”. She invited Congress president Rahul Gandhi to lay the foundation stone of the temple in Ayodhya with her in order to “atone for the sins” of his party.

Bharti’s ministerial colleague Giriraj Singh said “no power in the world” could prevent the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya; Singh was echoed by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya; and state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised some “good news” on Ayodhya, separate PTI reports said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]