Hindu Mahasabha to install Godse statue in temples

The Hindutva outfit is in touch with saints and temple trusts across the country for the purpose.

January 29, 2015 07:09 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:29 pm IST - Meerut:

Bust of Nathuram Godse at the central office of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, in New Delhi. Photo: V. Sudershan

Bust of Nathuram Godse at the central office of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, in New Delhi. Photo: V. Sudershan

Don't be surprised if you come across a statue of Nathuram Godse, the killer of the Mahatma Gandhi, in the temple in your vicinity. After its attempt to install Godse statues at few identified places in Uttar Pradesh was foiled by the State Police, the Hindu Mahasabha plans to install them in the premises of temples across India.

The Hindutva outfit is in touch with saints and temple trusts which supervise hundreds of temples, assured it of their support.

At present the outfit is quite determined but tight upped about how it plans to install statue of Nathuram Godse on January 30, the day Godse shot dead Mahatma Gandhi.

The Hindutva outfit has decided not to publicise its programmes of the installation of the statue after it felt "too much media coverage" became an "obstacle" in its work.

After its public announcement to build a temple for Godse in Sitapur district and install a Godse statue at an identified place in Meerut, the Uttar Pradesh police sealed the two places. While treating the issue as serious problem for law and order the State police also plans to invoke section 144 of the IPC at the two places.

As per the revised strategy, the outfit will first install Godse statue across the country and will then inform the media in order to avoid possible crackdowns by the Uttar Pradesh government and possible roadblocks posed by the other State government in the country. UP because

According to senior functionaries of the Hindutva group, they met several group of saints during the recently concluded "Magh Kumbh mela" in Allahabad.

"After we announced about our plans the government sealed the place. We don't want unnecessary attention. We would rather focus on competing the job at hand," he told this correspondent.

According to a senior Hindu Mahasabha leader who didn't want to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the issue, Godse statue might soon be seen within temple premises across the country -- to start with, in temples in the Hindi speaking States like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.

"We met hundreds of saints during the Magh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad who assured us of their support and now we are planning to install statues in temples with the support of these saints," said the outfit leader.

"We have a dedicated set of youths who are brimming with nationalistic fervour and who are ready to put Godse statue at the Raj Ghat at the cost of getting arrested but we don't want to work like that. We just want to spread the message of 'Akhand bharat'  (unified India) which was the main mission for Nathuram Godse ji," added another.

He clarified that the statues won't necessarily be in the main part of the temples so as not to equate Godse with the Hindu Gods.

"After some serious thinking and discussion with saints, we decided that as mark of respect to Godse we can install his statues somewhere in the premises of temples. We do have statues of great Hindu reformers and great men in temple premises," maintained the Hindutva leader.

While justifying the proposed move, the Hindu Mahasabha leader said: "Godse was no less than any other greater because he sent across the message of unified India and protested against the division the country by Klimt Gandhi".

The Hindutva group has ordered about five hundred statues from artists in Jaipur. It also plans to inaugurate and launch small libraries which would provide literature highlighting Godse's "point of view about unified India and correct sequence of events as far as Gandhi's killing is concerned".

The public announcement by the outfit to install a Godse statue and subsequent well reported bhumi pujan in Meerut for the statue, had resulted in its leaders being booked under various sections of the IPC.

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