New Delhi: Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) chief Ashok Singhal has asked Muslims to accept a uniform civil code and give up claims over Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. If they do so, they will get love, he added.

"We will give them love and not claim any other mosque sites even though there are thousands built on the ruins of temples. But if they do not accept it, they should be prepared for further Hindu consolidation. It has happened at the Centre, it will happen in other states," the lifelong pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who established the VHP and launched a campaign to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya, told English daily Hindustan Times in an interview.

Terming the result of 2014 a "setback to Muslim politics", the 88-year-old RSS leader further said that polls in India could be won "without the support of Muslims". He asked the minority community to learn a lesson and respect Hindu sentiments.

"Muslims will be treated as common citizens - nothing more, nothing less. And, they must learn to respect Hindu sentiments. If they keep opposing Hindus, how long can they survive?" he told the daily.

According to the daily, he expects that Prime Minister , whom he described as an "ideal swayamsevak", would deliver on "Hindutva agenda".

"During the campaign, he conducted himself like a swayamsevak. He also showed to the world the discipline and hard work that a Sangh pracharak puts in. The government will not and does not need to backtrack because it has the numbers in the House, and whatever we want to do, we want to do it through constitutional means," Singhal said.

The VHP had strained relations with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance government because, as the Hindu outfit felt, NDA did not come good on its "core issues" like abrogation of Article 370, uniform civil code and Ram Temple.



File photo: VHP leader Ashok Singhal (PTI)