Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
In a virtual rebuff to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which on Thursday harped on its commitment to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad said it was a religious issue and political leaders should stop talking about it 'to seek more votes'. "We totally disagree with it. The issue is not political and therefore they should not speak. It is a religious issue. Building a temple or mosque should not be decided by the BJP or the Congress," he said.
'It wasn't as if the senior police inspectors in charge of the police stations were not aware of the communal tension that was being created in their areas before and during the riots.' 'Yet they chose not to act,' recalls Jyoti Punwani.
Regretting that the terrorists were able to "easily enter" and commit "heinous crimes" in Hindu sacred places, a Sangh spokesman said, "The nation should rise like one man to condemn the incident".
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ambrish Singh and B N Shukla, in a joint statement, also condemned the Darul Uloom for criticising the Madhya Pradesh government for making recital of 'Vande Matram' in government officials mandatory.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday took a dig at BJP president L K Advani saying "she divided Pakistan and never changed her stand like some big leaders".
The central committee of the banned Communist Party of India - Maoist had decided to eliminate Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Laxmananda Saraswati as he was opposing them in Kandhamal, according to the confessions of an arrested Maoist commander, who was allegedly involved in the killing in August last year.P Rama Rao alias Uday, arrested on April 20 from Raygada district, told interrogators that he was part of the 16-member Maoist team that gunned down Saraswati.
As the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday sent a general advisory to all the states and Union territories asking them to deploy adequate security personnel at all sensitive places, political leaders made fresh calls to people not to indulge in making provocative remarks or spreading rumours.
It is PM who is creating such environment, he said.
Samriddhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha, journalists with HW News Network, were produced before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Gomati district Shubhra Nath, who granted them bail on bail bonds of Rs 7,500.
The activists were proceeding to Pratapgarh to raze the tomb of a 17th century Mughal general, Afzal Khan, at the foothills of the fort.
On a day when Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party's Parliamentary Board, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's chief Mohan Bhagwat raked up the issue of Ram Mandir in Ahmedabad, expressing the desire to build a glorious 'Shree Ram Mandir'.
Police have issued an order, prohibiting organisers from transmitting his speech
Before the possible arrival of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to New Delhi ahead of the 2014 general election, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have decided to rake up the Ayodhya Ram Mandir issue again.
The petition seeks registration of FIRs against VHP leaders for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Delhi in February. The Delhi high court has issued notices to the Centre, state government and police.
During the discussion on the issue, the opposition in the Lok Sabha singled out Vajpayee for saying that a temple existed at the disputed site.
Ramchandra Das Paramhans said on the occasion that a mosque would not be allowed to be built at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
In his report, Justice Liberhan said the senior police officers were at hand to ensure that their men toed the line and that the demolition of the disputed structure was allowed to go ahead with "military precision as orchestrated by the leaders present at the spot and carried out by their henchmen."
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia were on Friday released along with 957 fellow cadres, a day after nearly 2,500 activists were arrested in a massive crackdown by Uttar Pradesh authorities to foil its yatra which also led to protests by its workers.
Shah's rally and other events will be attended by party workers from neighbouring constituencies, including Amethi.
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
Amidst opposition in some quarters to observing International Yoga Day, Vishwa Hindu Parishad International Executive President Dr Praveen Togadia on Sunday said that the discipline was never secular and was more of "Vedic and sanatan".
Since the historic judgment of the apex court that paved the way for the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town, a large number of devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya, several among them making their maiden visit to the city.
In Kottayam district alone, 120 people have "returned" to the Hindu faith in the last three months.
The meeting came a day after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up recently to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, met for the first time on Wednesday.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was elected president and Champat Rai general secretary of the Ram Temple trust at its first meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia on Wednesday said the Nehru-Liaquat Ali pact in regard to protecting religious places should be implemented in both Pakistan and India.
In the wake of the killing of three Hindus in Sindh province in Pakistan, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday asked India to take up the issue of the security of the minority community with officials in Islamabad. "We demand protection of minority Hindus in Pakistan where they have been subjected to repeated attacks. Human rights organisations across the world and the Indian government should seek an explanation from the Pakistan premier about the repeated killings," he said.
'We would try our best that the temple structure becomes visible in the next two years.'
The district administration of Kandhamal, which has been violence-free for about a year, on Tuesday decided not to allow VHP leader Pravin Togadia to visit the town.
'Those who support the attacks should realise that beating Kashmiri students can't help anyone change the result of the game.'
Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Gujarat unit had opposed the move of the state government to seek death penalty for former minister Maya Kodnani and others in the 2002 post-Godhra riots case, Parishad leader Pravin Togadia said on Wednesday.
As the infuriated mob blocked traffic and targeted RTC buses demanding action against the officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation for the removal of the road side 'Pochamma temple', the police used lathis to disperse the crowd.
Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela today criticised the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and some religious leaders for supporting Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate.
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
'The locals want a permanent solution to the perennial Mandir-Masjid issue. They have realised political parties will lose relevance if a temple is built.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances