Parivar remembers Lord Ram at election time. Bar 'political' VHP yatra: Seer to UP CM // Swaroopanand blasts Sangh for 'temple politics'
Bar 'political' VHP yatra: Seer to UP CM
LUCKNOW/BHOPAL: In a fresh twist to the Samajwadi Party government ban on the 84-kosi yatra of the VHP, the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, Swami Adokhshajanand Teerth Saraswati, has written to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav asking him to ensure that the Sangh Pariwar does not get permission to turn this "illegal" yatra into a "political" yatra.
The Shankaracharyas' letter, a copy of which is with TOI, describes VHP chief Ashok Singhal as a politically motivated individual who brings a bad name to the Hindu community. It also alludes to VHP and its activities as those of an organised gang. "By giving undue importance to such persons... the government's own prestige stands dented. All such political attempts should be foiled in the interest of communal harmony," the letter states. Speaking to TOI, Adokshajanand, currently in Mathura, said, "VHP's attempt to disturb communal harmony is a cause of major concern. The political outfit is using a religious issue, the Ram Mandir, to divide the nation on religious grounds. This should not be allowed."
But Singhal kept up his attempt to garner support for the yatra, accusing SP leader Azam Khan of "flaring up the issue". "Our talks with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were held in the most cordial manner. However, things reached a flashpoint only after Azam entered the scene and adopted a policy of confrontation and the government was forced to buckle under the pressure of vote bank politics," he said. BJP chief Rajnath Singh announced the party's support to VHP's proposed 84-kosi yatra from August 25 and demanded that the Akhilesh-led state government lift the ban imposed on it.
"What was the relevance of a ban on a ritual only a few hundred seers want to perform," Rajnath said at the release of a book on senior BJP leader Hridaynarayan Dixit. "The state government should revoke immediately the ban orders or else the Samajwadi Party government in the state should quit," Rajnath said, adding it was unfortunate that the parikrama was being given a political colour and being seen as connected to the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal joined in saying the fringe saffron outfit was deliberately raising temperatures to achieve its political agenda, adding that "fake sadhus and a fraud Shankaracharya" were driving the VHP's current movement. "The chaurasai kosi parikrama is conducted in the month of chaitra (April). But VHP is hell-bent on making it a political issue. The outfit has a fraud Shankaracharya in its ranks," he said, refusing to name the seer. But his arch rival and BJP vice-president Uma Bharati riposted, "The Ayodhya issue has to be resolved someday. It's basically a land dispute which can be resolved outside court,'' she said. "The parikrama is only one part of the issue. Why can't there be an out-of-court settlement? It's also the court's advice," she said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bar-political-VHP-yatra-Seer-to-UP-CM/articleshow/21986860.cms
Swaroopanand blasts Sangh for 'temple politics'
See also:
Ayodhya: The Dark Night
Political Resolution of the Annual Convention of the Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan, Delhi, March 1992
Rethinking Secularism by Bhagwan Josh, Dilip Simeon, and Purushottam Agrawal
LUCKNOW/BHOPAL: In a fresh twist to the Samajwadi Party government ban on the 84-kosi yatra of the VHP, the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, Swami Adokhshajanand Teerth Saraswati, has written to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav asking him to ensure that the Sangh Pariwar does not get permission to turn this "illegal" yatra into a "political" yatra.
The Shankaracharyas' letter, a copy of which is with TOI, describes VHP chief Ashok Singhal as a politically motivated individual who brings a bad name to the Hindu community. It also alludes to VHP and its activities as those of an organised gang. "By giving undue importance to such persons... the government's own prestige stands dented. All such political attempts should be foiled in the interest of communal harmony," the letter states. Speaking to TOI, Adokshajanand, currently in Mathura, said, "VHP's attempt to disturb communal harmony is a cause of major concern. The political outfit is using a religious issue, the Ram Mandir, to divide the nation on religious grounds. This should not be allowed."
But Singhal kept up his attempt to garner support for the yatra, accusing SP leader Azam Khan of "flaring up the issue". "Our talks with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were held in the most cordial manner. However, things reached a flashpoint only after Azam entered the scene and adopted a policy of confrontation and the government was forced to buckle under the pressure of vote bank politics," he said. BJP chief Rajnath Singh announced the party's support to VHP's proposed 84-kosi yatra from August 25 and demanded that the Akhilesh-led state government lift the ban imposed on it.
"What was the relevance of a ban on a ritual only a few hundred seers want to perform," Rajnath said at the release of a book on senior BJP leader Hridaynarayan Dixit. "The state government should revoke immediately the ban orders or else the Samajwadi Party government in the state should quit," Rajnath said, adding it was unfortunate that the parikrama was being given a political colour and being seen as connected to the Lok Sabha elections.
Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh in Bhopal joined in saying the fringe saffron outfit was deliberately raising temperatures to achieve its political agenda, adding that "fake sadhus and a fraud Shankaracharya" were driving the VHP's current movement. "The chaurasai kosi parikrama is conducted in the month of chaitra (April). But VHP is hell-bent on making it a political issue. The outfit has a fraud Shankaracharya in its ranks," he said, refusing to name the seer. But his arch rival and BJP vice-president Uma Bharati riposted, "The Ayodhya issue has to be resolved someday. It's basically a land dispute which can be resolved outside court,'' she said. "The parikrama is only one part of the issue. Why can't there be an out-of-court settlement? It's also the court's advice," she said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bar-political-VHP-yatra-Seer-to-UP-CM/articleshow/21986860.cms
Swaroopanand blasts Sangh for 'temple politics'
ALLAHABAD: A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat backed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's resolution for a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the saffron family came under sharp attack from its own fraternity. On Friday, the Shankaracharya of Dwarika and Jyotish peeths, Swaroopanand Saraswati, said political parties should leave the construction of Ram temple to the sadhus. Saying that political parties were chasing the "human incarnation of Ram rather than the concept of Lord Ram," Swaroopanand said parties should stop politics in the name religion. Speaking to TOI, Saraswati's second-in-command, Swami Avmukteshwaranand, said, "To us, Ram is an idea and the practitioners of Hindu faith should emulate this ideal. Political parties, however, are fighting for mileage and power. How can they be genuine faith-keepers when their route to Ayodhya travels through Delhi? They are only insulting the idea of Lord Ram."
On Friday, Swaroopanand, who is also among the frontrunners of the Save Ganga campaign, sought a promise for help from Union minister for steel Sriprakash Jaiswal, who was in attendance at a 'Shastrartha' (debate over the Vedic literature). Addressing devotees, Jaiswal said, "Jagat Guru Swaroopanand ji has asked the Centre for help in keeping the Ganga clean and maintaining the water levels in the river. Though I do not handle the ministry, I have assured him that the UPA government is in agreement with his view on the need to save Ganga. We will take proactive steps to protect the Ganga." Jaiswal, who remained a silent spectator when Swaroopanand brought up the controversial temple issue, however, refused to comment on the politics of temple building, saying it was the Jagat Guru's own opinion.
On Friday, Swaroopanand's principal disciple, Avmukteshwaranand also said Shankaracharya Swaroopanand was strongly pursuing the case of Ganga because it was the one issue that united people across different divides. "Our history tells us civilisations came up on the banks of prominent rivers; now we are destroying one such river along which we have built our entire history and culture." Avmukteshwaranand was also critical of a political culture where the government promised smooth roads that resembled "Hema Malini's cheeks" but failed to ensure that food was available to every person in the country.
Ayodhya: The Dark Night
Extract from the new book on the history of Rama's appearance in Babri Masjid: what happened on the fateful night of December 22-23,1949 in Ayodhya that went on to change India’s polity forever by KRISHNA JHA, DHIRENDRA K JHA
A Brief History of the Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan (SVA)Political Resolution of the Annual Convention of the Sampradayikta Virodhi Andolan, Delhi, March 1992
Rethinking Secularism by Bhagwan Josh, Dilip Simeon, and Purushottam Agrawal
