RSS chief seeks 'glorious Ram Mandir' at VHP meet

On a day when Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Parliamentary Board, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s chief Mohan Bhagwat raked up the issue of Ram Mandir in Ahmedabad, expressing the desire to build a glorious ‘Shree Ram Mandir’.

"We will have to build good, honest and true Hindus in Bharat, because now the whole world will be following Hindus. In the near future, we are taking up the mass recitation of Vijay Mantra for a glorious temple, the Shree Ram Mandir," Bhagwat said while addressing a public gathering organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

The announcement assumes significance for its timing as Modi, who has often been projected as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate by some sections, was on Sunday inducted in the party's highest-decision making body by party president Rajnath Singh.

Setting the Hindutva tone, Bhagwat said, “The stage has been set for Hindus to take the intellectual leadership of the world, the world has no other option but to follow Hindus".

"Though intellectually, Hindus have established their leadership in the world, but physically that is absent. A Hindu is a Hindu in his thoughts but not so much in his behaviour. We have to change this," the 'Sarsanghchalak' said.

The RSS chief was the chief guest at the function.

This is perhaps for the first time that Bhagwat has attended a public function organised by the VHP in Gujarat.

In his brief address, Bhagwat also expressed the need "to imbibe true Hindu values and adopt the Hindu way of living by adopting Hindu language and appearance".