Hindu convention pushes temple agenda

Yogi Adityanath, a Bharatiya Janata Party MP and a 'sadhu', got Hindu representatives from Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Nepal to assemble under the banner of the 'Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh' for a three-day conclave, which concluded in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday.

The issue of construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya figured prominently in the eight resolutions adopted at the convention.

Adityanath declared Nepal's King Gyanendra as the new chief of the VHM.

"We have already received the consent of the king and he has also offered to host the next convention at Veerganj in Nepal in 2005-2006."

Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore, BJP MP Swami Chinmayanand and former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, Rajendra Singh, were among those who attended the convention.

Resolutions on 'cross-border terrorism, alert against madrassas, atrocities against Hindus and Buddhists in Bangladesh, protection to Hindus under attack by Muslims and Christians in Sri Lanka and ban on cow slaughter' were also adopted at the conclave.

Through a special resolution, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa was praised for banning cow slaughter.