?Janagraha not against courts but against delay meted out?: Pujya Sri Mahamandaleshwara Sri Akhileshwaranandagiri Maharaj at Janagraha Sabha in Bengaluru

Thousands of Ram Bhakts assembled at National college grounds, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru on December 2 for a Janagraha Sabha (Public Referendum) towards the construction of a magnificent Ram Mandir at Ramajanmabhumi Ayodhya. The Janagraha Sabha was organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Karnataka. Sants from various Maths were present on the august dais. Speakers prayed and urged for a magnificent Ram temple at Ayodhya. Speakers at the Janagraha Sabha unequivocally condemned the courts for not giving priority to the case and said that though they continue to respect the courts, the delay meted out is unacceptable.

Sri Milind Parande, general secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad appraised the audience on the need for such a public referendum. It is for hundreds of years now that due to Babar, the barbaric foreign invader, and the mindset that endorses him, which has resulted in the issue of Ram Mandir being alive even today he said. He expressed his agony and termed it as shocking and appalling when the court hearing the Ramajanmabhumi case recently heard the case of a mere 3 minutes and adjourned it saying that the court had higher priorities than this. “When thousands of people have laid down their lives for the Ram Mandir and being oldest of the cases, the courts doing so is a humiliation to the whole of the Hindu society”, he added. The Babri Masjid was a reminder to the barbaric invader’s assault on this nation. Today the Masjid ceases to exist but a grand Mandir will be built very soon he said.

Dr Vijayalaxmi Deshamane, President of VHP Karnataka, in her address said that the Ram Rajya has been coined and the same explains justice and harmony to all. ‘Rama Jjapa’ is a therapy to Hindus. Though we had such conducive environment all around, and Ram Bhakts are in plenty, Sri Rama Temple construction has been delayed due to wrong intentions. Magnificent Ram Mandir construction is the need of the hour and ordinance is the only way to make it happen, and we urge for such an ordinance she said.

Sri Soumyanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri Mutt also expressed pain wherein enough efforts towards Ram Mandir to worship Bhagavan Rama who has been not just idol but an ideal to all Bharatiyas has been put and we should not end up only with efforts alone but organise ourselves and execute it as soon as possible.

Sri Basavaraj who holds the responsibility of VHP in Karnataka Dakshina elucidated the resolution taken up by the sants in Delhi’s convention held in November:

1. Meet the Governor and submit an appeal on demand for an ordinance in each state of Bharat

2. All Lok Sabha constituencies should have Janagraha sabhas seeking a public referendum on construction of Ram Mandir

3. Starting Dec 18, which happens to be Gita Jayanti, Sri Rama Japa should be done personally, and public praying for the construction of Ram Mandir soon should also be done by everyone.

Quoting these resolutions, he said and urged all the Ram Bhakts at the venue to perform Rama Japa for a week from Dec 18 to Dec 25 with the intention of realising the dream of a grand Ram Mandir at Ayodhya soon.

Sri Mukunda CR, Sahsarkaryavah of the RSS said the children of our country have been hearing the stories of Prabhu Sri Rama and it is a sad situation that urging for the temple to worship him has seen so many obstacles. Since 1949, Ram Mandir has never been the priority of the courts he said. The court has taken up and closed cases which were of least social and cultural importance. He reminded how the courts opened in the midnight to hear the mercy plea of Yakub Memon, a terrorist. It is only Hindu society which has always been abiding by law of the land and constitution, but the same court has humiliated all of us by not considering Ram mandir plea as a priority. The court gives time to cases which belittle the Hindu traditional practices of Sabarimala and gives a verdict which again hurts Hindus. This is the sole reason for such public referendums he said.

The right word for ordinance in Kannada is Sugrivajne and it is analogous to Sugriva from Ramayana who ordered his troupe to help Rama succeed in his quest for rescuing Sita and it is another sugrivajne which we demand from the elected representatives for construction of the Ram Mandir.

Pujya Sri Mahamandaleshwara Sri Akhileshwaranandagiri Maharaj who was at his oratory best engaged the Bhakts with slogans. He said though unacceptable, the partition and division of the country has happened and we have accepted it, but we shall not be accepting the decision of the division of Ramajanmabhumi at any cost wherein the archaeological evidence is totally in our favour. He said the whole land should belong to Hindus and Babar a foreigner and his masjid cannot be there. He also said how the appeasement has hurt this country and the policies of appeasement have been against Hindus. He opined arranging such Janagraha sabhas is not against the Supreme Court but against the delay meted out and the disinterest displayed by the courts in the case. He said how for over 400 years fights have happened for the sake of building a Mandir at the place where Bhagawan Sri Rama was born, lived and ruled. Many great people have guided us over the Rama Mandir and it is now our younger generation who have to make it happen so that it becomes a gift to our future generation.

Sri Sri Vishwesha Teertha Swamiji of the Pejawar Mutt, Udupi addressed the audience and called for the people of all religions to unequivocally demand the Ram Mandir. He said as, in Ramayana where curse to Ahalya was relieved by the touch of Sri Rama, we in Bharata have had the curse of not having the mandir and now the same will be eliminated and we ought to have the Rama Mandir getting constructed. He said all sants have to reach out to PM Narendra Modi and demand for the same. He said he believes that PMModi would also reciprocate positively. For that to happen he demanded all Sants to be together and in case needed should be ready for a Satyagraha and demand for the same, he concluded.

People from various places of Bengaluru and outskirts of Bengaluru arrived at the National College grounds through processions, rallies and street plays. Folk artists dressed as Sri Ram, Lakshman and Sita were the cynosures at the event. A life-size statue of Rama near the dais drew attention and interest of the people at the venue.

Sri Siddananda Avadhuta ji of Bagepalli, Sri Sri Sri Sadhwi Yogini mata, Sri Vidya Mahasamsthanam, Sri Sri Krishna Mohanaanandagiri Goswami maharaj of Tripura Bhairavi Matha of Mysuru, Sri Sri Vidya Vachaspati Vishwasantosh Vharati Sripada, Sri Abhaya Chaitanya Maharaja, Ramakrishna Ashram, Malleshwaram, Sri Sri Sachchidananda swamiji, Sivananda Ashram, Hrishikesh, Sri Sri Madhavanandagiri Swamiji, Himachala Pradesh, Sri Ganesha Swarupananda Giri Swamiji, Shankar mutt, Srirangapatna, Sri Ramanananda Swamiji, Sivanandashram, Nelamangala and Sri Chandrashekaranand ji, Sri Ramakrishna Seva Trust, Devasandra, Bengaluru were among the other sants who were seated on the dais.