‘Mathura, Kashi not on agenda, temple tribute to martyrs’

LUCKNOW: Senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar, one of the prominent faces of Ramjanmabhoomi movement, said the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya would be a tribute to over 3.50 lakh martyrs who laid their lives in the 78 wars fought over the shrine since 1450 when the existing temple was demolished and Babri Masjid built on its ruins.
In an exclusive chat with TOI, Katiyar, the founder-president of Bajrang Dal and Hindu Jagran Manch, who was famous for his firebrand speeches, said his dream has almost come true as he had struggled throughout his life to see the Ram temple becoming a reality in Ayodhya.
Katiyar, one of the prominent faces of Ram temple movement in the 90s, however, said there was no talk of claiming the disputed shrines in Kashi and Mathura now and he would work with the the Union and state governments as well as the trust that would be formed for construction of Ram temple .
When asked to comment on the Supreme Court directing the government to give five acre land for a mosque in Ayodhya, the former member of Parliament, who once said he would not allow construction of a new mosque in Ayodhya, said that since it was an order of the highest court of the land, he would not like to comment on it.
Katiyar said he wholeheartedly welcomes the apex court’s decision and would appeal all citizens to take it in good spirit.