Facts should be allowed to come out: RSS on Gyanvapi mosque issue

New Delhi, May 19: Amid the ongoing debate over a 'Shivling' allegedly found in the Gyanvapi mosque during a court-mandated videography survey in Varanasi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has said the facts related to the issue should be allowed to come to the fore while asserting that truth can't be hidden for long.

RSS publicity in-charge Sunil Ambekar made this statement on the Gyanvapi masjid issue while addressing an annual event organised by Indraprastha Vishwa Samvad Kendra, the RSS' dialogue cell, in New Delhi on Wednesday to honour journalists.

While addressing the programme, Ambekar said, "There are some facts about Gyanvapi which are coming out in the open. I believe we should let the facts come out in the open. In any case the truth always finds a way to come out. How long can you hide it?"

He further added, "I believe that the time has come to put the historical facts in the right perspective before the society."

This statement made by the RSS top official is extremely significant amid the ongoing Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque dispute.

As the Supreme Court judgement came in November 2019 over the Ayodhya dispute, while responding to a question asked about similar disputes in Mathura and Kashi, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had said the Sangh was associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi movement due to historical reasons and it was only as an exception.

At that time, Bhagwat had said the RSS would now work for human development.

Addressing the same RSS event held on Wednesday, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan also echoed similar views on the Gyanvapi issue.

Expressing his sentiments associated with the Gyanvapi issue, Balyan said he was in Varanasi when all these events (related to Gyanvapi) unfolded.

"When I got information about a Shivling being found in the mosque, I got emotional and my eyes were filled with tears when I came to know that Nandi (a sacred ox on which Lord Shiva rides) had been waiting for Lord Shiva for many centuries," the Union Minister added.