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Sunday, April 12, 1998

Temple plan not shelved: Uma

Yubaraj Ghimire  
HARDWAR, April 11: Union Minister of State for Culture Uma Bharati said here yesterday that "systematic" efforts were on to remove "all hurdles in the way of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya." She, however, added that the construction of the temple would be the "first thing we will do when the BJP comes to power on its own."

Bharati also announced that the government would soon unveil some effective measures to check "invasion and pollution of our culture through TV and ads." She said that it was too premature to spell these out.

The Minister was addressing the concluding session of the VHP-sponsored Sadhvi Sammelan which endorsed the six-point programme adopted by the VHP's governing council in Faridabad earlier this month: ban on religions conversion and cow slaughter, scrapping of the Tehri dam, restoration of the governance of the Hindu temples and Mutts to Hindu bodies and an active campaign to "drive Islamic and Christians missionaries out of the country."

The Sadhvis, estimatedaround 20,000, resolved to come out of their ashrams and counter the Islamic and Christian bodies engaged in missionary activities. This, they said, will be their "Agenda 2000".

Earlier, VHP working president Ashok Singhal who also addressed the sammelan had a tough time pacifying an agitated Sadhu that the Parishad had not diluted its commitment to the temple.

"We have not stopped any of the preparation, construction of pillars and carving of stones. Which in any case will take about two years to complete. The temple should be reality by 2000 AD", he said adding "our own trust will built it."

As part of the Agenda 2000, the Sadhvi sammelan also decided to propagate literacy drive especially women's literacy, running of orphanage and mobilising masses against what they called cultural invasion through "scurrilous ads and TV programmes."

This is in addition to their demand for ban on cow slaughter.

Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.



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