Ayodhya: The holy city of Ayodhya is on high alert and has been turned into a fortress ahead of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad proposed yatra on Sunday. The yatra which has been banned by the Uttar Pradesh government, over the possible communal flareup, has already sparked off a political war of words.
Ahead of the VHP proposed 84 kosi yatra, 50 of its top leaders are under arrest in Faizabad. Arrest warrants are already issued against more than 300 while 200 others have already been arrested across the country. The security has been tightened in the temple town with the administration saying that 8,000 police and paramilitary troops are on the ground to ensure that no VHP kar sevak or leader enter the town.
Section 144 is imposed not only in Faizabad but in surrounding five distrcits too. There is barricading at every road leading to Sarayu river. The administration said they are prepared for the worst.
Arun Kumar, ADG Law and Order, said people participating in the yatra are being stopped and 350 people have been held so far. "We are taking care that this yatra must not happen. People who will participate in it will be arrested," he said.
He said all the routes joining the yatra have been covered with proper arrangements with all the required steps being taken in the matter.
Yatra has now became a political slugfest as the SP government got a shot in its arm against the VHP when the Allahabad High Court refused to lift the ban on the yatra. The VHP has decided to defy the ban and said they will undertake them yatra. Meanwhile, they have also accused SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of minority appeasement.
VHP leader Ashok Singhal said Mulayam has made an issue out of yatra and has got a chance to insult saints. "This is a small program and Mulayam Singh has made an issue out of it. People will come for a day and they will go. He has got a chance to insult our saints," he said.
The VHP's yatra may have religious pretences with its agenda to drum up support for a Ram mandir, but not everyone in Ayodhya is buying it.
Chief Priest of Ramlala Temple Acharya Satyendra Das said this a 'jan sampark yatra' and the restriction imposed by the state government was the right decision. "This is not a parikrama but a 'jan sampark yatra'. The state government has taken a right decision by putting restrictions. They want to associate it with the religion, but they are not doing it according to the tradition of chorasi kosi Parikrama," he said.
The stage is set for a Sangh versus SP battle. Irrespective of the outcome, it's a win-win situation for both ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The only ones who lose out are the people of this temple town.
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