[1]LUCKNOW: BJP chief Amit Shah is attending a three-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS which could discuss among other things, how the ruling party will handle issues that are a priority for its ideological mentor.
Building a Ram temple in Ayodhya is prominent among them.
“The Ram mandir is in the country’s interest. It is already a national issue. It is part of the BJP’s manifesto, we don’t have to ask them,” said senior RSS leader Dattatreya Hosbole before the meeting began in Lucknow this morning.
Other issues like the controversial “love jihad” or the allegation by the Sangh that Muslim men are using love and marriage to lure Hindu women into religious conversion, are also expected to be come up.
The Uttar Pradesh BJP recently used ‘love jihad’ as a political agenda, but fared poorly in by-elections last month. The RSS has been tight-lipped about the formal agenda of the meeting; it says these meetings mainly discuss organisational affairs.Mr Hosbole said Mr Shah was attending the RSS meet as a “swayamsevak“. “There has been change in the country. Amit Shah has been invited as a sevak,” he said.
The meeting is being held at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Nirala Nagar. The RSS’ top leaders, including chief Mohan Bhagwat and about 400 members from across the country are participating.
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