Clear stand on Ram Temple: VHP during BJP-RSS coordination meet

New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday reiterated its demand for building a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya during a key meeting of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates including BJP.

According to media reports, the VHP has asked the Narendra Modi government to clear its stand on the ram Temple issue and make an announcement in this regard soon.

The top brass of the RSS and the BJP are meeting today for a three-day coordination meeting to take stock of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government’s one year in office and the challenges it faces.

Reports said that Prime minister Narendra Modi, along with some of his top cabinet colleagues, will be part of the deliberations, which will also focus on contentious issues such as the One Rank, One Pension (OROP) scheme and the recently released religion-based census data.

During the three-day co-ordination meeting, the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, Gujarat's Patel community's ongoing agitation for caste-based based reservation and the OROP issue will also be discussed.

Besides RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, top functionaries of numerous Sangh-affiliated bodies will participate in the September 2-4 conclave during which coordination between these bodies, including BJP, will be discussed.

Modi, who has been a RSS swayamsewak, is likely to attend the meet on the second day, but BJP chief Amit Shah will be attend the event on all three days. Interestingly, BJP veterans LK Advani and M M Joshi are not likely to attend the coordination meeting.

The coordination meet between the BJP and RSS aims to provide the government with feedback from the field for further tweaking and improvement of schemes and programmes.

PTI quoted sources as saying top BJP and RSS leaders will also deliberate on sectoral achievements of the government as well as gaps.

Sources said the meeting had been convened to ensure that organisations affiliated to the Sangh don't air their concerns and grievances against the government in public, and discuss such matters on formal party and organisational forums.

The timing of the three-day coordination meeting is significant considering it is being held ahead of Bihar polls. It also comes after some RSS affiliates openly came out against the government's land ordinance forcing it to go on the back foot.

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