New Delhi: Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya title suit, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat Saturday suggested that the Sangh was unlikely to get involved in Hindu seers’ and Right-wing groups’ claims over the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura.
The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in a unanimous verdict Saturday, awarded the disputed site to the Hindus, and said a trust should be set up by the central government within three months to handle it in future.
The court awarded the Muslims five acres of land at a “suitable, prominent location” in Ayodhya, to be decided by the central or state government, for constructing a mosque.
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‘Sangh doesn’t get involved in movements’
Replying to a query about whether the RSS would push “for Kashi and Mathura”, now that the Ayodhya dispute had been settled by the Supreme Court, Bhagwat said: “The Sangh doesn’t get involved in any movement (andolan). We work towards character building.
“In the past, the circumstances were different, resulting in the Sangh getting involved in the movement (Ayodhya). We will once again work for character building.”
The Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi shares a boundary wall with the Gyanvapi mosque, while the Shahi Idgah in Mathura is adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple complex.
In the 1990s, Hindu Right-wing organisations such as the RSS-affiliated Vishva Hindu Parishad had raised the slogan “Ayodhya-Babri, sirf jhaanki hai, Kashi-Mathura baaki hai (Ayodhya-Babri is just the start, Varanasi and Mathura are still left)”.
Also read: Ayodhya Hindus happy but won’t celebrate SC verdict, Muslims ‘accept’ it
‘Come together to build the mandir’
Bhagwat said the RSS welcomes the court’s decision. “Today the final judgement has come after years of dispute. The Sangh thanks all the judges. We have said that the move to put an end to the ongoing dispute is something the government will have to initiate,” he said.
Answering a query, he also said the Sangh has no separate message for the Muslim community as both “Hindus and Muslims are citizens of India”.
Bhagwat reiterated that as far as building a new mosque is concerned, the central government will decide where it will be built. He also said efforts were made to find out-of-court settlements, but that did not happen.
He said that peace and harmony should be maintained, and the court verdict should not be viewed from the prism of victory and defeat.
“Everyone has to come together to build the mandir,” Bhagwat said, adding that the time has come to put an end to all animosity and disputes.
Ram temple will be built with donation money: VHP
VHP international president Alok Kumar said the group’s only focus now was construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Kumar said the Supreme Court judgment had come after “400 years of struggle”, adding the government should now initiate work on a grand Ram temple as the earliest.
Speaking to ThePrint, the VHP leader said, “We expect that the central government shall expeditiously take the next step as directed in the judgment of the Supreme Court, facilitating construction of a grand temple.”
Talking about the funds and resources required to build the temple, VHP and Sangh Pariwar sources said they would be looking at donation from the public.
Citing the example of Somnath temple reconstruction, a VHP source sought to recall Mahatma Gandhi’s “suggestion” that the temple should be constructed with people’s donation and not with government money. “VHP and RSS will seek public donation to collect money for construction of Ram temple (in Ayodhya) in near future.”
The sources, however, said any decision would be taken only after consultation with members of the trust that the SC has ordered to form to build the temple.
(With inputs from Shanker Arnimesh)
Also read: SC invoked Article 142 to order formation of trust for Ram Mandir. Here’s what it means