VHP evasive about construction of temple in Ayodhya

Vishwa Hindu Parishad today said the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya is just "a matter of a few days" but did not spell out any concrete agenda, saying 2 to 20 years do not matter for a nation like India.

Senior VHP leader Champat Rai told reporters that "a few years are nothing" in the life of a country like India which has "survived thousand years of struggle" as he rolled out programmes for year-long celebrations to mark the 50 years of the organisation's constitution. Though Rai mostly parried queries on its pet projects like the construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and other controversial items on its agenda, he said it had not put them on the backburner.

"I think that the construction of temple in Ayodhya is a matter of a few days. In the life of a nation, and Hindustan is alive after 1000 years of struggle, two, four, 10 or 20 years don't matter," he said. Former Punjab Police chief K P S Gill, who was present in the press conference, was named as the vice-president of the golden jubilee celebration committee and Rai said they had roped in leading personalities from different walks of lives. Gill said this was the celebration of VHP's 50th year for which "I have been asked to participate".