A big rally is slated for December 2 in Mumbai at the MMRDA ground in Bandra East
Surendra Jain
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) opened throttle on the Ram Mandir campaign, with Surendra Jain, joint general secretary (VHP) who was in Mumbai on Friday, stating that mammoth rallies are planned in several cities across the nation to press for the Mandir. A big rally is slated for December 2 in Mumbai at the MMRDA ground in Bandra East. Jain upped the ante at a press meet at Azad Maidan where he also spoke about Sabrimala.
Surendra Jain speaks: On a timeframe for the Ram temple…
We are urging for movement on the temple. We need to get the land fast. We have had so many talks with government leaders, there have been so many intermediaries. A section of the Muslim leadership says though there should be no talks, let there be a judgment.
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About the VHP and the judiciary on Ram temple…
We have been in court since 1855. Even the British government did not give us justice. In independent India we have been in court since 1950. We have been in the Supreme Court since 2010. If the apex court can meet at 2 am in cases like Yakub Memon's, it needs to expedite this matter too.
Talking about political parties and their role in the Ram Mandir issue…
The Congress rule has been marked by Muslim appeasement. We hope that with the BJP at the helm, with several Ram supporters within them, we will see construction at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in six months. Uddhav Thackeray's statement of going to Ayodhya is a good one. Every Hindu must go to Ayodhya. There may be splits between political parties, but each one will fight in their own way for the ultimate aim, Ram Mandir.
If the BJP is supportive of the Ram Mandir why has it not happened for 4.5 years…?
I have been a professor for 35 years. I know the mentality of students. They answer the easy questions first, and then they answer the tough questions.
On name change of places and, erasure of an identity…
I would not call it change of names but restoration of names and national pride. The names that have been changed were those of Muslim invaders, attackers. If you do want to give a Muslim name why not name a place after the late A P J Abdul Kalam?
British names of railway stations in Mumbai have changed…
We do not have anything against Islam or Christianity. We are against terror and reminders of oppression. Elphinstone station changed to Prabhadevi but remember what Elphinstone stood for? It was named after Lord Elphinstone who was the governor of Bombay. This is not the same as Churchgate station, which gets its name from the locality in which it exists.
On why a Mandir and a Masjid cannot co-exist...
We have seen communal tension, strife and riots break out when temples and mosques exist side by side. There are recent examples of that, please go and check.
On some of these statements which strike fear for the diverse fabric of this nation…
Those who may be wary or scared are only followers of Babar and have a jihadi mentality. Babar, Aurangzeb were jihadis and we need to defeat this ideology theoretically, too. Today, there are statements like if Ram Mandir is made then, there will be a situation like 1947. This is incorrect. We will not give up on the Ram Mandir issue and thousands of lives sacrificed in this name.
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