VHP campaign to light five 'diyas' in every household

Lucknow, Oct 24 (IANS) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will carry out a campaign of lighting up at least five earthen lamps in each household during Diwali and dedicating them to the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

VHP sources said each earthen lamp would symbolise the ‘wait of 100 years’ for the temple which is to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January.

According to VHP spokesman, Vinod Bansal :“Every household will symbolise end of more than 500 years of wait by the Hindu community for the temple.”

Bansal said the campaign was important as this will be the last Diwali before the grand Ram Temple is opened for public early next year.

“Organisational functionaries and workers have been asked to fan out and ensure that the message is spread at the ground level,” he said.

Sources said VHP functionaries will reach out to Dalits and other socio-economic sections to ensure their participation in the campaign and the eventual celebration of Diwali.

The execution of the campaign, sources said, will be akin to the drive carried out by the VHP for collection of funds for construction of Ram Temple.

The VHP had carried out a special 44-day ‘Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan’ soon after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Ram Temple in 2019.

VHP sources said the campaign saw the participation by around 62 crore people from various walks of lives.

“This time too people from all sections of society, primarily Hindus, will take part in the campaign which has acquired a global appeal,” Bansal said.

The drive comes alongside Yogi government plans to achieve another Guinness World record by lighting 24 lakh diyas on Deepotsav on the 47 ghats of Ayodhya, including Ram ki Paidi. About 25,000 volunteers will be roped in by the district administration for the event.