PM's visit fruitful only if Pak stops sending terrorists:Togadia

Jabalpur (MP), Dec 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Pakistan can be hailed as successful only if the neighbouring country stops sponsoring terrorism, VHP leader Praveen Togadia said.

"If Pakistan stops sending terrorists, then I will believe that the Prime Minister's efforts and visit were fruitful," the Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president said even as he claimed that the neighbouring country will not mend its ways.

Togadia also said that Modi should take a leaf out of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's book and clear the way for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya.

"After Independence, the then Home Minister Sardar Patel brought a Bill that facilitated the construction of Somnath temple (in Gujarat). In the same way, Modi should bring a Bill and get it enacted into a law to clear the way for the construction of a Ram temple," he told reporters here.

The VHP leader said that the construction of the Ram temple was "necessary to end communalism in the country" and would also help defeat ideologies such as that espoused by the Islamic State.

He said that VHP leaders would call on MPs of all parties for the passage of such a Bill and would also go to the people and obtain feedback from them after charting out a plan at a meeting in June next year. He further called for Hindus to forget caste barriers and dine together.

"We should forget our castes and dine together at least once every week. Together we can safeguard our honour," he said. Claiming that the Hindu population "won't count after a century", Togadia said that the community should produce more children.

The VHP leader said he was not averse to jeans and modern education, but stressed that "we want our youths to respect our rich culture and their parents and go to temples". Togadia also said that VHP will put pressure on the government to make a law to counter "love jihad".

PTI