Mohan Bhagwat should head trust for building Ram Temple: Ayodhya mahant

The mahant of Tapaswiji ki Chhawani in Ayodhya Paramhansji Maharaj on Monday said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should head the trust to be set up for the construction of Ram temple.

"The RSS chief should be made the ex-offico head of the trust so that he automatically takes that post. Sangh Parivar should be given the responsibility of Ram temple's construction," the mahant told reporters at Sita Samahit sthal.

The Supreme Court in a historic verdict on November 9 had backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.

"Be it the issue of "rashtra nirman" (nation building) or temple construction, what the RSS has done from village level to the cities, no one else can do," he said, adding that the prime minister, the home minister and the defence minister, all have their origins in the Sangh.

The mahant, who has been a critic of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas chief Nritya Gopal Das and its member Ram Vilas Vedanti, alleged that both have a very narrow mindset.

"When the Supreme Court asked for setting up a trust for temple construction, mahant of Ram Mandir Nyas, Nritya Gopal Das said that his Nyas would construct it and this showed his lure for the post.

"Similarly, Ram Vilas Vedanti opposed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying that 'Nath Sampraday' cannot construct the temple," he said.

Yogi Adityanath is mahant of Gorakhnath Muth, the revered Muth of the Nath Sampradaya.