Udupi, (The Hindu): Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt has said that he was committed to his stand of construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, but also wanted to promote harmony among all religions.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, the Pejawar seer said that in the late 1980s and in the early 1990s he tried to resolve the issue of Babri mosque peacefully when V.P. Singh and P.V. Narasimha Rao were Prime Ministers.

“Nobody put in as much efforts to resolve the issue as I did,” he said.

The mosque was demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.

The seer clarified that he had not participated in the demolition of the Babri mosque. He had not provoked anyone to demolish the mosque either.

“But, it was the unanimous opinion of the ‘Hindu sants’ that a Ram temple existed there and it should be reconstructed. I stick to my stand, but at the same time I want harmony among religions,” he said.

The seer said that some had alleged that a cleanliness campaign was taken up in the surroundings of Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple on October 23, 2016, because Dalits had participated in the “Udupi Chalo” jatha undertaken on October 9, 2016.

“The cleanliness programme was held in response to a threat by the participants of ‘Udupi Chalo’ that they would lay siege to the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple. The road, where the jatha passed through and the area where the cleanliness programme was held, were different,” he said.

Iftaar

Some persons had even politicised the “Souharda Upahara Koota” (Iftaar) for a gathering of Muslims at the Annabrahma Dinning Hall held in the outer precincts of the Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple complex here on June 24, this year.

He had been targeted for that by those who saw political designs in it.

“Commitment to one’s own religion and harmony with other religions has always been my stand,” the seer said.

Again, some were asking meaningless questions such as if Bakrid and consumption of beef will be allowed in Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple.

“There has been no insult to either Hinduism or Madhwa philosophy owing to holding of the Souharda Koota,” the seer said.