BJP Leaders Back RSS Chief's Call For Law To Build Ram Temple

Supporting Mohan Bhagwat, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said it is a constitutionally valid demand and the government should bring an ordinance for construction of the temple.

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 18 October 2018 6:24 pm

Several BJP leaders Thursday backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's call for a law to enable construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Supporting Bhagwat, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said it is a constitutionally valid demand and the government should bring an ordinance for construction of the temple.

Shrikant Sharma, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government and its spokesperson, echoed the view, saying a legislation to construct the temple at Ayodhya will be in accordance with the Constitution,

Sharma said there have always been two options for constructing a temple - one is to take the legal course and another to build a consensus. He added that an ordinance in this regard can be part of the legal route.

He said the matter has long been delayed in courts.

In his customary Dussehra address to the Sangh cadres at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, Bhagwat said the government should clear the path for the construction of the grand temple through an appropriate and requisite law.

"What Mr Bhagwat said is within constitution, is constitutionally valid. We have been seing that suni waqf board lawyers are only trying to delay the proceedings in the court. There is nothing really left, except delay, government should bring an ordinance," Swamy said.

Terming Bhagwat's speech as historic, former BJP MP Vinay Katiyar also rejected the contention that he made the demand for a law for the temple with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said a grand Ram temple must be built at the birthplace of Lord Ram. This is the desire of all Hindus.

Rao accused the Congress of resorting to various tactics to deny the temple's construction.

Sharma said the issue of Ram temple is not political but a matter of faith.

He said it would be wrong to link Bhagwat's call with politics, and asserted that the BJP government at the Centre has done well on the parameters of good government and development.

In his speech, Bhagwat stressed the construction of the temple is necessary for Hindus' self-esteem and that it will also pave the way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness in the country.