Udupi : Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghachalak of the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS), said on Friday that the goal of building Ram temple at Ayodhya was closer to realisation than ever before.

Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of the three-day Dharma Sansad organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), he said, “The temple will come up on Ramajanmabhoomi, and nothing else will be built there.” A large number of sants and sadhus from different parts of the country are attending the three-day event.

“This is not a populist announcement, but a matter of belief for us,” said Mr. Bhagwat. “The last few steps towards the goal will be extremely sensitive. We will have to work and take steps carefully.”

Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Paryaya Pejawar Mutt said the atmosphere was now conducive for the temple’s construction. “I promise that it will be completed in 2019,” he said.

On the matter of cow protection, Mr. Bhagwat said it was necessary to create awareness and educate people of the Hindu community about cow protection. “Protection of cows and prevention of their slaughter is not a policy for us. It is a matter of devotion,” he said, adding that ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow protectors) were being given a bad name now.

Praveen Togadia, international working president of VHP, said Parliament should introduce an anti-cow slaughter law for the country.

Meanwhile, Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur Mutt said on Friday that pseudo religious groups were indulging in lumpen activities in the name of Hinduism and were causing “irreparable damage” to the religion. These include cow vigilantes, moral policing groups and pseudo sanyasis, he said.

He said the Dharma Sansad should look to realise the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, especially the one that there is no higher goal than the search of truth. He said religion, which should be the panacea for all ills in society, has itself become the source of all problems today.