Temple to school,VHP shifts focus

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP),known for its shrill anti-minority stand and alleged role in 2002 riots,now plans to stay away from political issues like the Ram temple movement to keep its shrinking base intact.

The Hindu outfit,which announced an overhaul in its top leadership on Sunday in which Praveen Togadia was appointed its international working president in place of Ashok Singhal,now plans to focus on socio-religious activities instead of getting entangled in political issues like Ayodhya in which it once played a key role.

“We felt that because of our focus only on the political issue of Ram temple over the last 20 years,we became a victim of hatred politics and started losing base in the Hindu society. We have decided to engage in socio-religious activities. We are focusing on starting good schools across the nation,increasing our membership,training new priests and preachers etc,” said Kaushik Mehta,the newly appointed president of VHP’s Gujarat unit.