Swami slams RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for ignoring destruction of Ganga

Swami Shivanand Saraswati, a noted saint of Haridwar, has compared the demolition of Ram temple in 16th century with destruction of the Ganga during the present time and questioned the intention of Mohan Bhagwat, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief behind his claim that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya must be built by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Bhagwat was here yesterday and claimed that Ram temple was an issue with which majority community was emotionally attached. But the RSS Sarsanghchalak didn’t speak a word on pollution on the Ganga because he failed to see it. He remained silent on this issue also because it didn't suit him and his party politically”, said the chief priest of Maitri Sadan, a revered ashram in the temple town of Uttarakhand, on Wednesday, October 3.

“Maybe Ram temple was razed during Babar’s time but they (the BJP government in the Centre and the state) are destroying the Ganga during the present time. This is why Bhagwat didn’t utter a word on the belief of crores of Hindus in the holy river”, the saint said at a press conference in his ashram.

The BJP and the RSS claim that Babar, the first Mughal emperor, had ordered his chieftain Meer Baqi to bring down a Ram temple at Ayodhya built on the birthplace of Lord Ram. Later, a BJP-RSS sponsored crowd had demolished the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992, claiming that it was built on the ruins of that Ram temple. A case is pending in the Supreme Court. With Lok Sabha elections coming up in seven months, BJP leaders and Sangh Parivar groups are aggressively raising the issue of building the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

The saint claimed that Bhagwat has the habit of living in extreme luxuries and lacks vision for the future. “The RSS chief came here, lived in luxuries, spent time with some so-called sadhus who don’t even understand Hinduism and returned. He must not be interested in honest people like Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand, an important saint of Haridwar, who is doing tapasya for clean Ganga for the last 104 days”, said Saraswati.

Bhagwat had visited Haridwar on Tuesday to attend a programme organised by Ramdev, a self-styled yoga guru and businessman.