RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s suggestion that the Modi government should bring a law to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has been endorsed by BJP workers, but a few senior leaders indicated that the party would wait for the Supreme Court judgment while ‘keeping the pot boiling’. VHP, RSS and a section within the BJP have been demanding an early settlement of the Ram temple issue. Bhagwat’s Thursday remark is one more attempt in the series. A party leader said it was more of an effort to test the waters as the election season approaches, with chances of a Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit quite unlikely before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While BJP MP Subramanian Swamy’s petition in the apex court for a daily hearing in the case has been rejected, he has maintained that political parties and activists opposed to building of a Ram temple were indulging in ‘delaying tactics’, even as counsel for the wakf, Kapil Sibal, had demanded that the hearing be postponed till the Lok Sabha polls. For the record, the minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel when asked about Bhagwat’s statement said he has given expression to feelings of crores of Indians on the issue. Building a Ram temple is also mentioned in the BJP election manifesto. However, he was evasive when asked if the government was mulling an ordinance or preparing a bill for building a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Law unlikely, BJP to wait for SC verdict on Ram Mandir
