VHP defies ban, holds road show in tense Ayodhya

AYODHYA: Even as the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad (recently renamed Ayodhya) turned into a fortress three days before the grand congregation of saffron forces to raise the pitch for construction of a Ram Temple, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad defied prohibitory orders on Thursday and held a road show to drum up support for their Dharam Sabha on Sunday.

Amid heavy deployment of CRPF, PAC and civil police across the town, highly placed sources told TOI they had clear-cut instructions that there should be no violation of the status quo at the disputed site. Although officials refused to divulge security details, sources said a big chunk of additional forces has been deputed in the inner and outer cordon of the Ramjanmabhoomi premises.

Faizabad divisional commissioner and receiver of the disputed site, Manoj Mishra, said only those going for “darshan” would be allowed near the complex.


Meanwhile, fearing a repeat of the December 6, 1992 kind of a frenzy, traders in Ayodhya have decided to boycott the saffron forces’ temple show.

‘People fear trouble, are hoarding ration’
The Sanyukt Vyapar Mandal of Faizabad said on Thursday that it would oppose VHP’s Dharam Sabha on Sunday and show black flags to Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray. “They are trying to pollute the peaceful atmosphere of Faizabad and Ayodhya,” said vyapar mandal president Janardan Pandey.

“People in the two towns fear long stand-offs and troubled days ahead. Both Hindu and Muslim families have started hoarding ration,” Pandey said. Although Section 144 has been clamped in Ayodhya and Faizabad, it didn’t stop VHP from holding a road show on Thursday. The show was led by Bajrang Dal activists, raising slogans of “Ram Lalla hum aaye hain, mandir wahin banayenge“. “We are now going for a war for Ramjanambhoomi,” said VHP leader Bholendra Singh.

VHP’s road show also passed through Muslim-dominated localities of Faizabad under tight security of police force. Although there was additional deployment of forces in minority-dominated localities, Ayodhya corporator Haji Asad said some Muslims had left the area fearing trouble. The commissioner said the administration was keeping a close vigil on Muslim-dominated areas.