"Your love will reach Ramlalla'! RSS to take 'Akshata' from 25 Cr families to Ayodhya

In one of the biggest pan-India outreach programme taken up by any organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is set to reach out to around 25 crore households across the country between January 1 and 15 to distribute 'akshata' (rice) ahead of Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya on January 22.

 

The idea of the campaign, titled 'grah sampark abhiyan', is to connect every household with the consecration ceremony by asking people to celebrate the occasion from their homes and visit Ayodhya once the temple opens to the public.

According to ‘swayemsewaks’, the consecration ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 7,000 other dignitaries will be the biggest event for the Sangh Parivar. Keeping in view the magnitude of the event, the RSS has roped in its office-bearers and workers from all its 36 offshoots, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Mazdoor Sangh, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Vidya Bharati.Before the consecration, the biggest campaign launched by the Sangh Parivar was the collection of “samarpan nidhi (fund)” for Ram temple after the Supreme Court gave its judgement in favour of construction of temple in Ayodhya.

 

 

“Roughly 12.5 crore households were reached out for collection of donations. Around 65 crore population was covered during the campaign,” RSS prant prachar pramukh Dr Ashok Dube said.

“The buildup for the campaign for distribution of ‘akshat’ as a mark of invitation for consecration ceremony and for visit to Ram temple when it opens for the public, would begin from January 1. The campaign will continue till January 15,” Dube said, adding that it would be difficult to count the number of RSS members being involved in the campaign.

“The Sangh Parivar is already taking out ‘shobha yatras’ till the level of nyay panchayat with ‘kalash’ full of ‘akshat’,” an RSS office bearer said on condition of anonymity, adding that the yatra would conclude on December 31. “Once the ‘kalash’ reach nyaya panchayats under the supervision of committees, each formed at the district and block levels, by December 31, the Sangh Parivar volunteers from January 1 will start distributing ‘akshat’ with a photograph of Lord Ram to households at village and locality level,” Dube said.

He added that the Sangh Parivar aimed to cover 25 crore households, which by standard count, means covering a population of more than 100 crore. Dube said that the invitees would be asked to sing ‘bhajans’ or hold ‘Sundar Kand paath’ at the local temples on January 22. Another RSS functionary said that LED screens broadcasting the consecration ceremony live on January 22 would also be installed for the people to witness the historic moment.