© 2002 VNN
|
WORLD  Courts Can't Decide Lord Ram's Birthplace FROM TIMES OF INDIA INDIA, Mar 4 (VNN) — BHOPAL: Asserting that courts had no right to decide the birthplace of Lord Ram, VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia said Tuesday that "come what may", the construction of the temple at Ayodhya will begin from March 15. Addressing a press conference here, Togadia said it was a matter of faith for Hindus that Lord Ram was born at Ayodhya just as it was a matter of faith for the Christians that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. He said, "Just as no court can give ruling on whether Christ was born in Bethlehem or not, no court in the country can decide whether Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya or not. "The jehadi mentality that led Babar to destroy the Ram temple at Ayodhya more than 400 years ago was the same mentality that led to partition of the country in 1947, attack on the World Trade Center at New York on September 11 last year and attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001," he said. He said the Centre had been given time till March 12 to hand over the undisputed land in Ayodhya to the VHP. Togadia refused to comment on RSS spokesman M G Vaidya's statement on Monday at Nagpur that a mosque could be built near the proposed Ram temple at Ayodhya. "I have read Vaidya's statement in newspapers, but I do not want to comment on it," he said. The VHP leader said a letter had been written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi by Swami Chinmayananda on behalf of the VHP, urging her to listen to the issue of the Ram Temple, "something that concerns the feelings of crores of Hindus all over the country." She has, however, failed to meet so far, he lamented. He said though the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya would surely begin on March 15, the whole process was likely to take at least five years. Togadia said, "Everyone including the PM had been given time till March 12 to decide on whose side they are." The matter relating to the undisputed land at Ayodhya was now between the central government and the VHP, he said adding that "the Uttar Pradesh government has got nothing to do with this." He claimed that Shankaracharyas of all the four peeths were with the VHP on the issue of temple construction. From Times of India Contact VNN about this story  Send this story to a friend
|
