RSS to discuss Ayodhya, Indo-Pak peace initiatives at Kanyakumari conclave

The Hindu pilgrimage town of Kanyakumari, on the southernmost tip of India, is all set to host a crucial meeting of top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders on July 5 and 6.

According to an RSS statement released in Kochi, the 250-member national executive of the RSS and some 40 senior functionaries from Sangh Parivar organisations like the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will attend the meeting.

RSS chief K S Sudarshan will guide the proceedings of the meeting, which will be attended by senior Sangh functionaries like H V Seshadri, Madandas Devi, Ashok Singhal, Moropant Pingle, Dattopant Thengdi and Sanjay Joshi.

The statement said besides reviewing the annual training programmes that the RSS has conducted at 80 places this year and finalising the calendar of events for the next year, the participants will discuss the situation prevailing in the country and adopt significant resolutions.

Top on the agenda is the Ayodhya issue, which has been in news due to the peace talks conducted by the Shankaracharya of Kanchi, Jayendra Saraswati, and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The shankaracharya has predicted a major breakthrough on July 6, when the AIMPLB will discuss a proposal from him to resolve the dispute.

The RSS is closely watching the initiative taken by the shankaracharya. Last week, Sudarshan and other senior RSS leaders had travelled to Chennai to meet him. They briefed the Hindu seer on the Sangh Parivar's perception and demands on the Ayodhya issue. The shankaracharya had in return promised that his proposal is meant to meet the aspirations of both the Hindu and Muslim communities.

Some Sangh Parivar outfits like the VHP have been highly critical of the shankaracharya's moves, which are being carried with the blessings of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The RSS leadership has told the pontiff that the Sangh Parivar is keen to see a grand Ram temple at the site of the demolished Babri mosque.

The participants at the conclave will also disuse the strategy to be adopted with respect to other disputed sites at Varanasi and Mathura.

Among the other issues that will be taken up for discussion are Vajpayee's trip to China; the peace initiatives between India and Pakistan and the growing incidents of attacks on Hindu activists in states like Kerala, West Bengal and Assam.