PM Modi should break his silence on Ayodhya issue: VHP

Allahabad: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "break silence" over the Ayodhya issue, and give "a clear message" that his government was "committed to the construction of temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi".

At a meeting of the VHP's "Kendriya Margadarshak Mandal" close to the holy Sangam here, the Sangh Parivar outfit asked the Prime Minister to "pay a visit to Ayodhya and click a selfie at the Ram Janmabhoomi" to underscore the commitment of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre towards construction of temple at the dispute.

At the meeting, which was attended by a number of VHP office-bearers and Hindu religious leaders, concerns were also raised over "increasing incidence of cow slaughter" and demands made for setting up a national "Gau Seva Aayog" on the pattern of similar bodies that have come up in BJP-ruled states like Gujarat and Haryana.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, senior VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti said "it is necessary for Narendra Modi, who enjoys the blessings of the Hindu community, to break his silence over the Ayodhya issue. "He has visited a number of shrines in various countries - many of them belonging to other religions - and clicked selfies to demonstrate his regard for different sects. "Now he must visit Ayodhya and do the same there".

Vedanti, who is also a member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and a former BJP MP, added "it has been said many times that matters of faith can not be decided by a court of law and that an Act of Parliament should pave way for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya." "If the ruling BJP is wary of raising this issue in the Parliament on account of its lack of majority in the Rajya Sabha, it must consider the option of convening a special joint session of both houses," he said.

"If Modi and the BJP succeed in getting such an Act passed in the Parliament, Hindus will bless them with an unprecedented victory in the 2019 elections. "Failure to do anything in this regard may earn them the wrath of the sant samaj, whose blessings were unequivocally with the party and its leader in the last general elections", Vedanti added.