Protesting the government's decision to go ahead with the Sethusamudram project, the Sangh Parivar and its affiliated organisations on Wednesday staged road blockades at various places in Mumbai and Delhi.
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.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Monday questioned the Centre's assertion before the Supreme Court that Lord Ram himself had destroyed the Ram Setu (Adam's bridge) and said it was a distortion of history."Nowhere in the Kamba Ramayan is it mentioned that Lord Ram destroyed the bridge. It is to appease Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, whose party is a partner in UPA, that Centre is doing such things," VHP president Ashok Singhal said.
Kodnani is an accused in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya case. Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaideep Patel, another key accused in the Naroda Gam case behind bars, was also granted bail.
"The earlier design was made in 1988, now over 30 years have passed and so the footfall will increase with time. People are also very enthusiastic about visiting the temple so we thought its size should be increased. In view of this, the height of the temple has been increased from 141-feet to 161-feet," Nikhil Sompura said.
Faizabad-Ayodhya Babri Masjid Action Committee convenor Mohammed Yunus Siddiqui said the comments about Jinnah may have been Advani's 'personal opinion' and similar views had been expressed by other leaders in the past.
Advani met RSS chief K Sudarshan and VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Parveen Togadia to discuss current political situation in the country. At least 15 top leaders of the RSS and the VHP were also present.
Fresh violence erupted in Indore on Friday, leading to the imposition of curfew in the entire city, a day after four persons were killed in clashes during the Bharatiya Janata Party Vishwa Hindu Parishad sponsored bandh against the revocation of land to Amarnath shrine board.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal on Wednesday warned that they will not allow pilgrims to reach the Ajmer Dargah, where the annual Urs has begun, unless the Jammu and Kashmir government withdraws its latest order revoking the transfer of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.Bajrang Dal Rajasthan unit's convenor Mahendra Singh Meena said that Hindu activists of the saffron outfits would block buses carrying pilgrims in Rajasthan during the two-day bandh.
VHP international president Ashok Singhal told reporters in Chennai on Thursday that the meeting, to be held on June 15 and 16 at Haridwar, would also decide on a 'massive agitation' involving 50,000 people, in support of the Ram Sethu movement.
Singhal was arrested from Karsevakpuram, the VHP's central office, when he came out to attend the VHP's programme.
Dismissing as "irrelevant" and "illogical" a Vishwa Hindu Parishad letter seeking a fatwa declaring India as a friend of Islam, Muslim groups said on Monday that the country does not belong to any particular community and Muslims are very much sons of the soil.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Tuesday said he did not go to Ayodhya in 1992 as Hindutva forces failed to unite under a common banner.
Justice A S Dave of Gujarat High Court on Thursday declined to hear the petition of the Special Investigation Team challenging anticipatory bail granted to state minister Maya Kodnani and former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaydeep Patel in the 2002 post Godhra riot cases in Gujarat.
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Orissa government to ensure protection for the Christian community in the state and said withdrawal of paramilitary forces should only take place in co-ordination with the Centre
The VHP has said that this survey must not lead to reservations in the Armed Forces.
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.
There is no sign of it losing popularity with a significant section of the voting population, which appears to be attracted to the party for identity reasons, observes Aakar Patel.
Pravin Togadia, general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, rejected the Anti Terrorism Squad's contention that those who had been arrested in the Malegoan bomb blast case and particularly Dayanand Pande had given a supari for killing senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Mohan Bhagwat and a colleague for straying away from the Hindu line.
The UK Hindu organizations are urging the European parliament to adopt the report in its entirety, without making any of the 400 and off amendments sought by the Pakistan government.
The CM flew to Allahabad on Saturday morning and reached the Triveni Sangam -- confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers -- to personally see the arrangements there.
Construction work on the Ram temple in Ayodhya is going on in full swing and a part of construction is likely to be completed by October this year, said general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Champat Rai on Monday.
It also concurred with the high court order that the confessional statement of the accused were not admissible under law.
Police said a case has been registered against the Hurriyat leader and others for preaching secessionism on Eid-ul-Azha at Sheedhi Chowk on Monday.
The Shankaracharya said the sadhus will begin their march to Ayodhya from Allahabad after Basant Panchami, which falls on February 10.
By polarising the Hindu vote, the expose might help the BJP and Modi, but in the long run, it will dent Modi's credibility.
A prominent Muslim cleric on Wednesday asked the government to order a high-level inquiry into the activities of the saffron outfits, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, accusing them 'of playing a role in the recent terror attacks' in the country.Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in New Delhi, raised the demand during a meeting he had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday morning.
In its efforts to re-establish itself as a party espousing the RSS' core Hindutva ideology, the BJP has declared Ayodhya and Vande Mataram its election issues in Uttar Pradesh where Assembly polls are due next year.
In a telephonic talk with DMK parliamentary party leader and Union Minister T R Baalu on Sunday night, Sonia said, "Let us continue to concentrate on pubic service without being cowed down by such threats."
The revocation comes a day after heads of 4 Shaivite maths called on Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai and following an outcry against the ban by devotees, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu outfits.
Welcoming the high court's decision to stay the award, announced by the state Education and Cultural department, VHP and Bajrang Dal office-bearers told a press conference in Kozhikode that Baby should quit office and apologise for his action.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh top brass led by its general secretary Mohan Bhagwat on Monday met Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani
Rajnath Singh, president of Bhartiya Janata Party, has called for a nationwide bandh on July 3, to protest against the recall of the cabinet order by Jammu and Kashmir government of the land that was allotted to the Amarnath Shrine board.
'Political narrative in our country today is tilted towards Hindutva orientation and so Kejriwal becomes very dangerous to the BJP.' 'For them, he is a leader to watch.'
A peace march was taken out in Doda district, where 19 Hindus were killed, to express solidarity with families of the victims.
He was arrested from the campus on May 9 for allegedly depicting Hindu gods and goddesses in "obscene postures."
"Whether it is Togadia or (VHP president Ashok) Singhal's statement... the entry of VHP leaders should be banned in Rajasthan if communal harmony is to be maintained," he said.
If the government plan goes through, the trustees will have no say in temple affairs.
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