Earlier, when asked by reporters what he thought of Modi,

Bhagwat said, "He is my friend". A section of BJP leaders have demanded that Modi be declared as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate. VHP leader Giriraj Kishore also joined the Modi-for PM chorus saying like Gujarat the whole country can benefit from his leadership as there has been tremendous development in the state under his rule. The meeting today saw some people in the audience raising slogans in support of Modi as religious leaders gave their speeches. Bhagwat and VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Parveen Togadia tried to pacify them with the RSS chief saying that the Sangh Parivar was "well aware of the people's wishes". Togadia and Singhal requested that the 'dharma sansad' be allowed to remain focused on its agenda. Raising the Ayodhya issue in his address, Bhagwat said that the RSS was fully committed to construction of Ram Temple at Ramjanmbhoomi. "It is the obligation of Parliament to remove hurdles in the way of construction of Ram temple. Either Parliament should honour the wishes of the people or the people should elect a Parliament that is sensitive to the issue," the RSS chief said.