July 22 deadline, Hindu leaders’ ultimatum on Ram Sethu

By Pramod Kumar

Giving an ultimatum to the UPA government, the saints have warned the government to stop destruction of Ram Sethu forthwith. They set July 22 as deadline for the government and made it clear that if it did not take any decision before the deadline, they would be compelled to take a strong decision. "There will be a Dharma Sansad in Delhi on July 22 and the saints from all parts of the country will participate in it. If the government fails to take a concrete decision before that, the saints will be forced to take any strong decision to save the Ram Sethu," declared VHP president Shri Ashok Singhal while addressing a gathering of more than 25,000 people at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi on May 27. The rally was organised by Shri Ram Sethu Raksha Manch, Delhi. Before the rally, the saints addressed more than 150 public meetings across Delhi to expose the conspiracy on the part of UPA government to demolish the Ram Sethu.

"The political leaders could be coward, but the people of this country are not coward or weak. When the structure at Ayodhya was demolished, they did not bother about their lives. Now too they are ready for any sacrifice," added Shri Singhal. The people participating in the rally responded in affirmation to this call of Shri Singhal by shouting the slogan of Jai Sree Ram. Shri Singhal warned the government not to play with the sentiments of Hindus and also do not test their patience.

Explaining the conspiracy behind the demolition of Ram Sethu, he said the people of Europe do not recognise the history and culture of Bharat and they want to destroy it. That is why they call Sree Ram and Sree Krishna the mythological characters. The British did not accept this fact and now Smt. Sonia Gandhi too does not accept it. They do not recognise the Indian history prior to the Buddhist era. They feel if the historiy of Sethu is accepted, then the historicity of Sree Ram will continue to be proved. That is why Smt Gandhi went to inaugurate the project on July 2, 2005, he added. Shri Singhal again made it clear that the saints are not against the Sethusamudaram Project. "The government is bent upon spending Rs 2400 crore on the project by dredging the Ram Sethu. If it adopts the alternate route and dig a canal in the barren land the project will cost only Rs 1200 crore," he said.

VHP general secretary Dr Pravin Togadia said if it were Ali Sethu the Manmohan Singh government would not have dared to touch it. Besides preserving it, the government would also have declared subsidy for Muslims to visit it. "Ram Sethu is a teerth for us and we will not allow anyone to destroy it at any cost," he said adding that the government is making all efforts to destroy the identity and culture of Hindus. He said the governments of Egypt and China are spending crores of rupees to preserve their ancient sites but our government is spending cores of rupees to destroy our ancient sites, which are internationally important.

Senior BJP leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi gave a detailed account of his visit to the site and also the scientific facts about the Sethu. He said those who claim that it is not Ram Sethu are the biggest liars. Even the government documents prove that it is Ram Sethu and there are also evidences that it is man made. It is a unique example of our ancient glorious know-how. It is the only man made bridge in the world," he said.

Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy called upon the people to be ready for a bigger battle. He said the main battle is between "Om" and "Rome" and "Om" would defeat "Rome". Ramjanmabhoomi Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das warned those who think that the Hindu society is coward and weak. He said if the government does not stop the dredging work, the saints would take a tough decision on July 22. Dr Bajranglal Gupt, Kshetra Sanghachalak of RSS, said the Hindu society needs to adopt the same way, which was adopted by Sree Ram when the sea did not give Him way to reach Lanka.

Shankaracharya Vasudeva-nanda Saraswati said those who feel that only the saints of North India are fighting for the Sethu, should see that a prominent saint from the South, Pejawar Swami, is presiding over this rally in Delhi. Swami Parmatmanand said the saints presented all kinds of evidences to the government proving that it is Ram Sethu. But it is not ready to accept the truth. Presiding over the rally, Pejawar Swami Shri Vishveshteerth appealed to the people to stand unitedly as they had stood unitedly during the Banga-bhanga movement, which forced the British government to cancel the Partition of Bengal. He said the Hindu should be ready for big satyagraha.

Swami Sureshananda, a close associate of Sant Asaram Bapu, said those who are trying to demolish the Ram Sethu are bhagwatdrohi and the God would definitely punish them. He said the demolition of Ram Sethu is not good with regard to the security of the country. Swami Narendranand Maharaj said talking in peaceful manner must not be taken as cowardness. "Shri Ram had also sent various proposals of peace to Ravana, but he did not accept them. And what happened later, is known to everyone," he added. Dr Ramvilas Das Vedanti, Mahant Sudhirdas, Swami Vishwadevananda Maharaj, Shri Naval Kishor Das and various other saints also spoke on the occasion. Convener of Shri Ram Sethu Raksha Manch, Delhi, Shri B.L. Sharma "Prem" proposed a vote of thanks.

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