Lakhs of sadhus in capital; demand Setusamduram scalp
PTI, The New Indian Express
December 31, 2007
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEP20071230075143&Title=Nation&rLink=0

Buoyed by the saffron surge in Gujarat, the Sangh Parivar on Sunday stepped up pressure on the Ram Setu issue with a huge VHP rally demanding scrapping of the controversial Setusamduram project.

The rally which saw a galaxy of leaders from the Sangh Parivar and the BJP, including RSS chief K S Sudarshan, warned the government that the people of the country would not tolerate any damage to the Ram Setu, which they believe has been built for the Lord's conquest of demon king Ravana.

"Not only Hindus, but Muslims and Christians also oppose the project," Sudarshan said to a loud applause from the gathering in which BJP chief Rajnath Singh and two party Chief Ministers Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were present.

Firebrand VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia wanted the government to pay heed to their demands reminding it that "we destroyed Babar's structure in just four hours", an obvious reference to the demolition of Babri mosque.

Also significant were messages of support from former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, whose Shiromani Akali Dal is a part of the NDA.

In a clear move to revive its Hindutva plank, Togadia wondered whether the Government would have gone ahead with the project if it was "Ali Setu".

The VHP rally came a day after the BJP strategy group decided to begin a systematic study of the social and political profile of each of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies.