RSS Asks BJP to Address its Core Agendas in UP Poll Campaign

New Delhi: The RSS on Friday asked BJP leadership how its core issues, including the Ram temple at Ayodhya, will be addressed during the party's campaign for the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, informed sources said.

The issue was taken up at a meeting RSS leadership held with senior BJP leaders, including its chief Amit Shah, at central Delhi's Maharashtra Sadan.

The meeting comes a day ahead of the BJP's "Parivartan Yatra", which is all set to begin from Saharanpur.

Shah will flag off the first yatra, which will be followed by three more yatras from Jhansi, Sonbhadra and Balia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address six public rallies during these yatras.

The sources said the BJP's strategy for the assembly polls figured prominently during hour-long deliberations.

According to the sources, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh's Joint General Secretaries Dattatreya Hosabale and Krishna Gopal sought to know from the BJP leadership about its poll preperations in Uttar Pradesh.

Apart from Shah, Union minister Mahesh Sharma, General Secretary (Organisation) Ram Lal and Vice-President Vinay Sahasrabudhhe were also present.

The sources said that RSS leaders noted that it was appropriate to fight the elections on the agenda of development and firm steps of the government on national security but the campaign "should also address core ideological issues, including construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya".

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma's recent visit to Ayodhya to inspect the site for the proposed Ramayana Museum had reignited the political row over the Ram Mandir issue.

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar also urged the Union government to take steps for the temple construction.

According to sources, party's preparations in other poll-bound states of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur were also discussed.

The RSS leaders also sought to know about the status of the National Education Policy, which is in the works, and party appointments in states where posts are lying vacant.