Controversial Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sakshi Maharaj on Sunday declared the Ram temple at Ayodhya will be built under the Centre's BJP government, which has "four more years to go", drawing sharp criticism from opposition Congress party.
The Sangh has let it be known that a 'social' outfit called the Hindu Yuva Vahini, set up years ago by Yogi, did not have its approval.
'The BJP's constitution promises allegiance to India's secularism and socialism.' 'This is the oath that it makes all its members sign,' observes Aakar Patel.
'He couldn't hold himself from chanting 'Siyavar Ramchandra ki Jai'.'
'Modi campers are aware that the Sangh may keep a Nitin Gadkari under wraps.' 'He may be pulled out of the hat if push comes to shove and if the Modi-led BJP is unable to deliver a decisive victory.' A revealing excerpt from Kingshuk Nag's new book, Mohan Bhagwat: Influencer-in-Chief.
'How can the monument where the prime minister unfurls the flag on Independence Day, in a ceremony broadcast and telecast nationally, be maintained by a private entity?' asks Jyoti Punwani.
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced a major organisational reshuffle in the party, appointing Hindu hardliner Keshav Maurya and former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa as state party presidents in Uttar Pradesh and Karntaka respectively.
According to him, the temple issue did 'more harm than good' to the BJP as the matter was being used by the opposition 'to terrorise minorities and polarise votes'.
'He always avoided eating non-vegetarian food in presence of his deputies if they were fasting for the month of Shravan.' 'There were no Hindu, Jain, Parsi and Swaminarayan festivals he would forget.' 'He was a conservative Muslim and therefore could get along well with conservative Hindus.'
The court said it has decided to award imprisonment for life without any time frame to the 11, who have been convicted for murder, while requesting the state not to use its power to remit the sentence after 14 years of imprisonment.
Clashes were reported from Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, Narayanpur in North 24 Parganas, and Alipurduar town in north Bengal, among others.
"Desh ke chowikdar ki pehredari mein, sansadhono ki chori karai ja rahi hai (the country's resources are being looted under the watch of the country's gateman)," she said in a derisive reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Even Subramanian Swamy, who says he is an ardent supporter of the prime minister, has been taking proxy pot shots at him.' 'At the ground level too, there is resentment from workers and local leaders who have perhaps not got whatever they may have wanted,' notes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'Certainly if Advani had agreed to Vajpayee in sacking Modi, then we would never have been talking of Modi today.'
Construction work for Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya would start "soon" and be "completed during this tenure" of the present National Democratic Alliance government, controversial Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi said on Friday.
When Congress delegates gathered at Burari in 2011 for a two-day All India Congress Committee session, the political resolution adopted at the meeting was unusually harsh on the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, even going as far as to liken the right wing group to Nazis for its hatred of Muslims.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar alleged that the issue was being delayed 'under pressure' from the Congress, which denied the charge.
The goings-on at the three-day Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh conclave, which is being attended by 390 delegates, are shrouded in secrecy.
Criminal cases have been registered against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia and organisers of 'Hindu Virat Samavesha' for allegedly violating prohibitory orders issued by Bengaluru Police Commissioner M N Reddi.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in districts like Kodagu and Chitradurga, coastal regions among others, where local communities are opposed to the celebrations.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has too decided against observing the 27th anniversary of the demolition as "Shaurya Diwas".
The Shiv Sena on Saturday said that Narendra Modi's "toilets first, temples later" remark show that the Bharatiya Janata Party is not in touch with the views of its prime ministerial candidate.
'The BJP has been tinkering with the Indian Constitution every now and then.' 'Instead of celebrating November 26 as Constitution Day, the BJP was more interested in (the VHP's) Dharam Sabha which was called that day.' 'This shows they believe more in the Ram mandir than in the Constitution.'
Sadhvi also said "there is no such thing as saffron terrorism," adding that "saffron means dedicated life for the nation and dharma."
'It would be a folly on our part to believe that the KKK or its Indian version exists only as some dedicated organisation. Rather, the Indian KKK, much like the American counterpart, exists as a fragmented and amorphous collection of independent groups and individuals,' says Shehzad Poonawalla.
'When he was killed, did you ask questions of the Muslim community? When we spoke of 'aar-paar' you are asking questions.'
'Babur has been facing gross historical injustice for the last two centuries, when he had no role either in the demolition of any temple or in the construction of the so-called Babri mosque at Ayodhya.'
Noted Kannada scholar and researcher, M M Kalburgi, who often courted controversies with his outspoken stand on various issues including idol worship, was shot dead at point-blank range by two unidentified men at his residence in Dharwad, Karnataka on Sunday.
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of an era gone by, says Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. On the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, we republish this 2011 special.
Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs who fought for the right of the community over the disputed land, says Muslims in Ayodhya won't be satisfied if the Sunni Waqf Board accepts the five acres in Dhannipur.
In comments that could stoke a controversy, Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Thursday said that communal riots in Muzaffarnagar have left Gujarat far behind.
Very few old-style RSS workers-turned-leaders have survived Narendra Modi's political ambush in state politics. Harin Pathak's end closes the chapter for Modi who started his post-2002 riots journey with a new mix of profit-centric development and middle class-pleasing commerce, technology-driven communication with voters, and an unspoken Hindutva that speaks only through posturings and symbols. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reveals the real reasons for the Modi-Pathak rupture.
'Without destroying idol worship, you cannot destroy caste because idol worship keeps religious communities in its religious ideology. The RSS is a big promoter of idol worship.' 'They may have an OBC PM, but neither the RSS or the VHP talk about an OBC becoming a priest. The equation is: Business in Baniya hands. Religion in Brahmin hands. OBC votes for the BJP.'
Born in Ayodhya, Ansari was the first to file the suit on the matter in the court of civil judge of Faizabad in 1949.
'Gods of different religions haven't warred, so we shouldn't either.'
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta said the matter will be heard on November 19, as the court has not gone through the petition in detail.
'He needs to control his foot soldiers by taking either stern action against the over enthusiastic members of his group or convince them to stop causing him this embarrassment.' 'We know that most of these leaders are not going to be prosecuted by Indian authorities. So we are seeking alternate means to bring them to justice,' FIACONA President John Prabhudoss tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com
Senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj, who are said to be opposed to the declaration of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate in the next elections, held a dinner meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday to discuss the issue.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill would possibly be the first piece of legislation that is perniciously discriminatory on the basis of religion/faith, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Controversy at the Pejawar Mutt -- an integral part of the VHP and the Ram temple movement -- forces PM to stay away.
