Mohan Bhagwat: RSS won't back Kashi, Mathura movements but volunteers free to join

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that Sangh only supported the Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya and will not join similar campaigns for the sites in Kashi and Mathura.

Bhagwat, who was addressing a gathering on the 100-year celebrations of RSS, added that Sangh volunteers are free to take part in any movement.

"Ram temple is the only movement that the RSS supported, it will not join any other, but our volunteers can. The Kashi-Mathura reclamation movements will not be supported by the Sangh, but Swayamsevaks may take part," he said.

The RSS chief added that the sentiments of the Hindu society regarding Mathura and Kashi must be respected.

Bhagwat said that for Hindus, Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya have deep religious significance since two of them are birthplaces (of deities) and one is a place of residence.

"It is natural for Hindu society to express that urge," Bhagwat said.

Both the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura are facing legal disputes amid challenge by Hindu petitioners that they were originally sacred temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna, respectively.

In Varanasi, Hindu petitioners contend that the Gyanvapi mosque, constructed during the reign of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, was built after demolishing parts of the ancient Kashi Vishwanath temple — one of the most sacred shrines of Lord Shiva.

Court-ordered surveys and videography of the mosque complex have intensified the row, with findings of temple-like structures inside fuelling the Hindu side’s claim for worship rights within the disputed premise

In Mathura, the controversy centres on the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi site, where Hindu groups argue that the Shahi Idgah mosque stands on land historically associated with the birthplace of Lord Krishna.