The Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh Chief Jitendra Singh Vishen has announced that he is withdrawing as the "main pleader" for Rakhi Singh, one of the five Hindu women plaintiffs, in the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case of Varanasi.

Vishen said he took the decision due to the lack of resources required for contesting the case and "harassment by anti-religious people".

"I and my family (wife Kiran Singh and niece Rakhi Singh) are withdrawing from all Gyanvapi-related cases that we had filed in the interest of the country and religion in various courts," Visen said in a statement issued here on Saturday.

"In such a situation, due to limited strength and resources, I cannot fight this battle for 'dharma' anymore and that's why I am leaving this.

"Perhaps the biggest mistake I made in my life was by starting this 'dharmayudh'. This society is only with those who mislead by playing gimmicks in the name of religion," he said.

Visen's lawyer Shivam Gaur, who had left the case earlier, in a separate statement said that due to a communication gap with plaintiffs, he was withdrawing from the Gyanvapi case, which he is contesting from 2021, and Krishna Janmabhoomi case, which he took up in 2022.

Five women plaintiffs, including Visen's niece Rakhi, had filed the original Shringar Gauri suit in August 2021 seeking permission for daily worship of Goddess Shringar Gauri and other deities in the Gyanvapi mosque compound.

However, Rakhi parted ways with the other women and differences appeared between Visen and the lawyers of the four other plaintiffs, including Hari Shankar Jain and Vishnu Shankar Jain, in May 2022.

Visen had then announced his resignation as the national convener and national general secretary in the Hind Samrajya Party run by the Jain duo.

Meanwhile, Subhash Nandan Chaturvedi, a lawyer for the Hindu plaintiffs, said, "Jitendra Singh Vishen has made the announcement in the media to withdraw from the pleading of the case. He posted about it on social media. But Vishen has not yet submitted a written application to the court about his decision. The case is pending in court."

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