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The Hindu
The Hindu
National
The Hindu Bureau

Sree Narayana Manava Dharmam Trust decries Vellapally Natesan’s stand on temple

Sree Narayana Manava Dharmam Trust has denounced Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan’s call to light lamps on January 22, the day of the consecration of Ayodhya Ram Temple, as against the ideals of Sree Narayana Guru.

The Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janma Bhoomi case, though wrong in the legal sense, noted that the entire structure of the Babri Masjid was brought down in a calculated act of destroying a place of public worship. The court observed that Muslims were wrongly deprived of a mosque that had been constructed well over 450 years ago. It also noted that tolerance and mutual co-existence nourished the secular commitment of the nation and its people. The construction of a temple in place of a masjid went against the ideals of Guru, said a statement issued by G. Mohan Gopal and V.R. Joshy, president and secretary respectively of the organisation.

Guru always stood for communal amity and togetherness of people. The construction of the temple cost around ₹18,000 crore, which is equivalent to the budgetary allocation of education in Kerala for 18 years, they said.

Mr. Natesan’s statement was an attempt to distort the ideals of Guru to suit the RSS. It also reflected his intention to hand over the control of the Yogam to those in Nagpur. Most members of the Ezhava community would reject Mr. Natesan’s plot and his position on the temple, they said.

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