New Delhi, April 1
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) today took a decisive plunge in the Ram temple movement, finally doing away its facade of maintaining a distance with its outfits, when its leaders courted arrest here during the ongoing ‘satyagraha’ on the Ayodhya issue.

Courting arrest during the VHP’s ‘satyagraha’ senior RSS leader Madan Das Devi today said the Supreme Court order disallowing handing over of the undisputed land for construction of the Ram temple had “solved our problem as we would now fight for both the disputed as well as the undisputed land.”

Mr Devi, an interface between the RSS and the BJP, sangh spokesman Ram Madhav and Delhi RSS president Satya Narain Bansal courted arrest along with Sadhvi Ritambhara, her spiritual guru Swami Parmanand, former Bajrang Dal chief Surendra Jain and thousands of VHP activists on the sixth day of the week-long agitation.

With the direct participation of the RSS in the movement, the BJP is going to come under tremendous pressure, as the so-called liberal sections of the party, which have grown rapidly since the nineties, will be increasingly marginalised.

Sources said the RSS assessment was that the time was ripe for a decisive battle for political supremacy, which would result in decimation and annihilation of the “secular camp”.

The RSS strategists are also prepared for preponing the general elections and that is precisely why they have suggested to the BJP leadership to celebrate five years of the Vajpayee government, sources pointed out.

The plan is to force the political leadership of the country to commit itself to the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya so that a Central legislation can be enacted, paving the way for a temple.

With full knowledge that a Central legislation is not possible in the present Parliament, the RSS will like the Vajpayee government to resign on the Ayodhya issue and go in for a general elections.

Sources said the RSS had prepared its strategy on the basis of deep and unbridgable gaps within the secular parties, which were interested in capturing political power with scant regard for secular beliefs and principles.

Earlier, addressing the demonstrators, Mr Devi said apex court order had erased the distinction between disputed and undisputed land at Ayodhya and the temple struggle would now be fought for the entire acquired land.

The VHP and the RSS would now try to achieve their objective through a legislation in Parliament and asserted that the two outfits would not allow any ‘anti-Hindu’ politician to be elected in the next general elections.

Secularism, he said, was the biggest obstacle in the way of the Ram temple. Stating that the Hindu community was fed up with the false promises of politicians on the Ayodhya issue, he said: “They will not be allowed to have their way unless they do what they have promised. We need action, not words.” Charging the BJP with breach of trust, Swami Parmanand said: “We believed them when they made big promises on Ayodhya. But our trust has got a big blow.”

Addressing the demonstrators before this morning, VHP working president Ashok Singhal said the Supreme Court verdict had opened the doors for an all-out struggle for the VHP.

The commencement of the construction of the Ram temple would now begin on the disputed as well as the undisputed land simultaneously, he added.