Love jihad, temples’ liberation main agenda of VHP meeting in Haridwar

LUCKNOW: The raging issues of ‘Love Jihad’ and government control over temples in the country are set to reverberate at the meeting of Margdarshak mandal, the highest decision making body of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), scheduled in Haridwar on Friday.
Confirming this, VHP working president Alok Kumar told TOI that the issues happen to be national concern and are directly related to welfare of the Hindu community.The meeting of mandal happens twice a year.“We need to take them to the margdarshak mandal (comprising a host of prominent seers) which would decide the future course of action and the agenda ahead,” he said. The agenda set by the margdarshak mandal is subsequently followed up by the Sanghparivar, experts said. The VHP was initially planning to defer the meeting in the wake of the spike in corona case but eventually decided to go ahead with it.
Besides a host of seers, the meeting will be attended by mandal convener Jeeveshwar Mishra, Alok Kumar, VHP international vice-president and general secretary of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai and VHP secretary general, Milind Parende.
Kumar said that parishad would seek the guidance of seers on the proposed campaign for liberation of temples from government control. “It is only temples which are statutorily managed by the government in various states. This has been a very unsatisfactory state of affairs. The temple properties are being acquired and ‘Shashtra Vidhi’ is not observed,” he said, adding that an alternative structure for the maintenance of temples also needs to be put in place.
The VHP brass would also discuss the progress of crowd funding for the Ram temple project in Ayodhya. Kumar said it was a matter of great satisfaction that the parishad managed to reach out to 5.5 lakh villages across the country to collect public funds for the project. “Nearly 65 crore people gave donations for the temples liberally,” he said.
The VHP is also expected to review some of its regular projects including pursuance of `Samajik Samrasta’ (social harmony) and voluntary effort for socio-economic development of Dalits. Experts said that the RSS and the VHP have been working amongst the socially oppressed classes through multiple programmes, in what has eventually helped the BJP consolidate its position amongst Dalits who happen to be electorally prominent.
Sources said that the VHP is also scheduled to review the progress of `Ghar Wapsi’ of Hindus. The parishad stance comes days after a host of BJP ruled states including Uttar Pradesh brought in a stringent law against forced religious conversion.