Temple talks get louder as general elections come closer

The two-day meet of over 3000 seers in Delhi seems to have reignited the discussions and debates on Ayodhya Ram Janmabhoomi issue. This couldn’t have come at much better time for BJP with next general elections lined next year. BJP hard liners have joined the bandwagon as they ask the government to pass an ordinance over the construction of the Ram Temple.

Saints from Akhada and various other right wing spiritual organisations met in a summit at Talkatora Stadium, in which they deliberated on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. Nyas Parishad president Ram Vilas Vedanti announced that the construction of the temple will begin in Ayodhya from December and a mosque will also be built in Lucknow. Vedanti suggested a formula citing the proposal of Shia Waqf Board chairman Wasim Rizvi but refused to disclose the plan.

Vedanti said the construction of Ram temple cannot be decided by court or by the Parliament but mutual dialogue is the only way out. The main motive behind this two-day meet by seers is to push the central Government to bring an ordinance or an executive order for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

After the summit, Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had said that “no power can stop” construction of grand Ram temple at Ayodhya. He said, the Bharatiya Janata Party “was is and will always” favour construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Days after the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case to January 2019, Uma Bharti, Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation asserted that the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was her “dream.” She also added that she was “proud” of her association with the Ram Janmabhoomi Andolan and said that she was ready to give any assistance if required.

The Congress on the other hand accused the BJP of remembering Ram temple when the election approaches and said the BJP also knows that any ordinance will be unconstitutional as the issue is pending before the Supreme Court.

However, Ayodhya seems in a different mood this Deepawali as demand for definitive action on Ram Temple grows with state government’s Deepotsav kicking off in the city for the next consecutive year.

The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is in the Supreme Court and the next hearing has been deferred till next year. With the elections too planned d for next year, the cry for an ordinance over the Temple is growing louder everyday.