Hardwar, June 23: The VHP today rejected BJP`s advise to it to abide by the court verdict on the Ram Temple issue saying it does not care for the stand of political parties. "VHP Margdarshak Mandal is meeting here to express the sentiments of millions of Hindus. We don`t care for the stand of political parties", its international general secretary Praveen Togadia told reporters on the concluding day of the two-day meeting of the apex advisory body.
He said it was for the political parties to decide whether to respect Hindu sentiments or not.
BJP parliamentary party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra had yesterday said the VHP should abide by the court verdict on the disputed land in Ayodhya.
VHP had yesterday decided to go back on its earlier commitment to maintain status quo at the disputed land till the court gives its verdict. Ruling out the possibility of any talks with the Muslims on the contentious issue, Togadia said "if the All India Muslim Personal Law Board could move the court to restrain VHP`s shila daan programme despite Kanchi Shankaracharya`s mediation, I see little hope. We have now decided to build the temple on our strength".
Meanwhile, responding to a question on the reported statement by senior Margdarshak Mandal member and BJP MP Swami Chinmayananda that the criticism of the ruling party at the VHP meet was unjustified, the outfit`s senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore said, "religious leaders attending the meeting are not bound by any government or political party. They freely express what the Hindu community strongly feels about".
On the rebel religious leader Mahant Dharam Das`s offer of land to rebuild a Babri mosque, Kishore said "no power on earth can rebuild the Babri mosque in Ayodhya again". The second day of the crucial meet would deliberate on the Kashmir issue and the Godhra carnage.
Bureau Report