VHP to take up Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi issue in 2024

Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) supporters carry a cutout of Lord Ram during ‘Dharma Sabha’. Credit: PTI Photo

In a change of stand, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which had spearheaded the movement for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, has said that it would take up the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi issue in 2024, the year in which general elections will be held in the country.

VHP national president Alok Kumar told reporters in Ayodhya on Sunday that the completion of the Ram Temple was the primary focus of his organisation at present.

''We will not take up the Mathura (Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi) issue until the Ram Temple is complete.....the idol of Ramlala will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum by 2023....we will discuss the Mathura issue in 2024,'' Kumar said.

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Incidentally, the VHP had earlier made it clear that Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi was not on its agenda.

The All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of the seers in the country, had, however, supported the demand for removal of the Shahi Idgah Masjid, which was adjoining the Shrikrishna Janambhoomi.

VHP president's remarks came within days after Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appeared to give a call to his party supporters to 'prepare' for Mathura.

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''Kashi, Ayodhya mein nirman jaari, Mathura ki hai tayari,'' (construction is going on at Kashi and Ayodhya and now prepare for Mathura), Maurya had said in a Tweet.

UP minister and senior BJP leader Raghuraj Singh also said that 'liberating' the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi was on the BJP 'agenda' and that the saffron party was ready to make any 'sacrifice' for the same.

A petition claiming ownership of the entire land on which the Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi was situated and seeking removal of the adjoining Shahi Idgah Mosque was accepted by a district court in Mathura.

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The petition has sought the removal of the Shahi Idgah mosque, which was adjacent to the existing Shrikrishna Janmabhoomi, from the complex and has challenged the agreement signed between the Shrikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan and Shahi Idgah Mosque Management Committee in 1968. It claimed ownership over the entire 13.37 acres of land on which they were situated.

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