VHP intends to turn Sabarimala into national issue like Ayodhya

Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 21

Amid contrary viewpoints and a parallel congregation to match its Ram temple push on November 25, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has warned Kerala Chief Minister Pinayari Vijayan to stop “playing” with Hindu sentiments and ‘aastha’ or it would turn the Sabarimala into a national debate like Ayodhya.

Ahead of the Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland—Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan—the BJP’s sister organisation accused Vijayan of “playing with Hindu sentiments by working like Aurangzeb”.

Senior VHP leader Surendra Jain said by “crushing Hindu ‘aastha’ (faith) and traditions, the Chief Minister was trying to turn Kerala into a Hindu-free state like Kashmir”.

Meanwhile, the VHP is set to take the Ram temple issue to another level with ‘dharma sabhas’ in Ayodhya, Bengaluru and Nagpur on November 25. They will be followed by congregations in Mumbai on December 2 and in Delhi on December 9.  Sources say the RSS and the BJP are working behind the scenes to mobilise crowds for the gathering in Ayodhya.

However, not all those wanting a Ram Temple in Ayodhya are on board the VHP events. The apex body of seers—the All India Akhada Parishad—has said it will not participate in the VHP’s event in Ayodhya. Apparently, they are with the ‘dharma sansad’ being organised from November 25 to 27 spearheaded by the Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, in Varanasi.

A controversy had erupted after Swaroopanand recently asked the government not to meddle in the issue and leave the construction of the temple to saints. The VHP wants the government to bring in a law to facilitate construction of the temple in Ayodhya. However, without naming anyone, Jain said, “Nakal kabhi asal ki takkar nahi kar sakti (a copy can never match the original)”. 

Meanwhile, Jain accused Vijayan of behaving like a “ruthless dictator” and “repeatedly torturing Hindus under the pretext of the Supreme Court decision”.

He alleged that Vijayan was “abusing women in the name of preserving their rights”. While “warning” Vijayan, Jain said their “agitation will be democratic and under the Constitution. The Constitution allows ‘pooja-paath’ according to respective ‘dharmic’ beliefs, ethos and traditions. The law can interfere only if people of other religions or other devotees are hurt. This is the question of five crore Ayyappa believers”.

The Ram temple debate was revived when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said that it should be built at the “earliest”. Vijayan has accused the BJP and its ideological mentor of “vitiating the atmosphere at the Sabarimala temple and sponsoring protests against the entry of women”. Because of protests and clashes, no woman under the age 50 has been allowed to offer prayers at the temple since the Supreme Court ruling.

Jain said: “It is the prayer of the VHP to the judges that by getting the date of January 22, the Vijayan government has got another opportunity to indulge in barbarism, which is not appropriate. We urge that the decision be hastened by hearing the matter early, so that the message goes that the judiciary is concerned about the rights of the devotees and it doesn’t entertain the anarchists.”