UP govt bans VHP’s 84-Kosi yatra in 5 districts around Ayodhya
21 Aug 2013 4:24 AM IST
After Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders met Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to provide security for the 84-kosi-yatra, Uttar Pradesh government has decided to ban the VHP yatra, which was slated to pass through five districts surrounding Ayodhya from 25 August.
Government spokesman said the decision to ban Yatra was taken fearing communal violence in the region. ‘This yatra generally takes place in April and VHP’s plan to take out Yatra in August is not in sync with religious beliefs,’ he said
Convener of the Yatra and VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti announced that they would take out yatra at any cost. ‘It is a religious yatra and the act of the government clearly shows its inclination towards the minority community,’ he said.
VHP leaders led by Ashok Singhal had met Mulayam and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday last and apprised them to provide adequate security for the yatra slated to begin on 25 August.
Vedanti said during their meeting with the CM and SP president they had clearly stated that it was a religious yatra and there is nothing political about it. If the yatra is banned the act of the state government would be treated as direct infringement on the constitutional rights of the Hindus to hold their religious belief.
After the meeting between the VHP leaders and CM, district magistrates of 5 districts were summoned to Lucknow to assess the security and other aspects of the yatra, which is scheduled to cover 300 kilometers covering five districts of Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Ambedkharnagar and Bahriach.
Meanwhile, BJP MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath was detained in Kanpur, while he was on his way to Jhansi to take part in ‘Jalabhishek’ of a disputed temple.
Yogi was on his way for the Maha Jalabhishek ceremony of a Mahakalashwar temple in Jhansi where section 144 has been imposed. The local Jhansi administration has apprehended chances of violence during the BJP MP’s visit, because of which he was prevented from proceeding further as a precautionary measure. The Jalabhishek ceremony will continue till 20 August. BJP leaders have condemned the arrest.
VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma also said VHP needs no permission or clearance to perform this yatra. ‘We will do what we have decided to and are not bound by government’s consent,’ he said.
The yatra has been claimed as the VHP’s biggest public movement after the ‘Purna Aahuti Mahayagya’ in 2002, the 20-day long 84-kosi-yatra, between 25 August and 13 September. This was supposed to garner public support for the VHP’s desire for the early construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
A section of saints in Ayodhya have opposed the VHP’s yatra claiming that it was just a political move and it has no religious sanctity. Mahant Raghuvar Saran, chief priest of Rasik Niwas temple of Ayodhya, said that this 84-Kosi yatra proposed by VHP has no religious sanctity.
‘Ayodhya has a tradition of 84-kosi parikrama, which takes place in the month of Chaitra, according to Hindu calendar. That date is related with the birth of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, which according to the Caesarean calendar falls in April,’ he said.
The local MLA of Ayodhya and entertainment taxes minister Tej Narain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was conspiring to create communal violence in the state through its proposed 84-kosi-parikarma around Ayodhya.
‘Every year this 84-kosi-parikarma is held during the month of April but suddenly the VHP has announced this parikarma again in the month of August before the Lok Sabha elections, which smells of something fishy,’ he said.
Pandey said government would not allow the VHP to create communal disturbances in the state. ‘The intention of the VHP is clear that they want communal violence in the state and hence were trying to start a new tradition of 84-kosi- parikarma in August when it is held every year during April,’ he said.
Government spokesman said the decision to ban Yatra was taken fearing communal violence in the region. ‘This yatra generally takes place in April and VHP’s plan to take out Yatra in August is not in sync with religious beliefs,’ he said
Convener of the Yatra and VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti announced that they would take out yatra at any cost. ‘It is a religious yatra and the act of the government clearly shows its inclination towards the minority community,’ he said.
VHP leaders led by Ashok Singhal had met Mulayam and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday last and apprised them to provide adequate security for the yatra slated to begin on 25 August.
Vedanti said during their meeting with the CM and SP president they had clearly stated that it was a religious yatra and there is nothing political about it. If the yatra is banned the act of the state government would be treated as direct infringement on the constitutional rights of the Hindus to hold their religious belief.
After the meeting between the VHP leaders and CM, district magistrates of 5 districts were summoned to Lucknow to assess the security and other aspects of the yatra, which is scheduled to cover 300 kilometers covering five districts of Faizabad, Gonda, Basti, Ambedkharnagar and Bahriach.
Meanwhile, BJP MP from Gorakhpur Yogi Adityanath was detained in Kanpur, while he was on his way to Jhansi to take part in ‘Jalabhishek’ of a disputed temple.
Yogi was on his way for the Maha Jalabhishek ceremony of a Mahakalashwar temple in Jhansi where section 144 has been imposed. The local Jhansi administration has apprehended chances of violence during the BJP MP’s visit, because of which he was prevented from proceeding further as a precautionary measure. The Jalabhishek ceremony will continue till 20 August. BJP leaders have condemned the arrest.
VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma also said VHP needs no permission or clearance to perform this yatra. ‘We will do what we have decided to and are not bound by government’s consent,’ he said.
The yatra has been claimed as the VHP’s biggest public movement after the ‘Purna Aahuti Mahayagya’ in 2002, the 20-day long 84-kosi-yatra, between 25 August and 13 September. This was supposed to garner public support for the VHP’s desire for the early construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya.
A section of saints in Ayodhya have opposed the VHP’s yatra claiming that it was just a political move and it has no religious sanctity. Mahant Raghuvar Saran, chief priest of Rasik Niwas temple of Ayodhya, said that this 84-Kosi yatra proposed by VHP has no religious sanctity.
‘Ayodhya has a tradition of 84-kosi parikrama, which takes place in the month of Chaitra, according to Hindu calendar. That date is related with the birth of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, which according to the Caesarean calendar falls in April,’ he said.
The local MLA of Ayodhya and entertainment taxes minister Tej Narain Pandey alias Pawan Pandey said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was conspiring to create communal violence in the state through its proposed 84-kosi-parikarma around Ayodhya.
‘Every year this 84-kosi-parikarma is held during the month of April but suddenly the VHP has announced this parikarma again in the month of August before the Lok Sabha elections, which smells of something fishy,’ he said.
Pandey said government would not allow the VHP to create communal disturbances in the state. ‘The intention of the VHP is clear that they want communal violence in the state and hence were trying to start a new tradition of 84-kosi- parikarma in August when it is held every year during April,’ he said.
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