Bill for construction of Ram temple unlikely in Winter session of Parliament

The fate of the private member’s bill for the construction of the Ram temple, which was mooted by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha remains unclear.

The fate of the private member’s bill for the construction of the Ram temple, which was mooted by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha remains unclear. According to people aware of the developments, the bill has not been listed to be presented in the current session, even though the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates are putting pressure on the government to bring a legislation in Parliament for the construction of the temple in Ayodhya.

The fate of the private member’s bill for the construction of the Ram temple, which was mooted by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha remains unclear. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

While Sinha was not available for comment, two senior party functionaries said the bill is unlikely to be tabled in the current session.

Earlier, while announcing his intent to bring the bill, Sinha had asked opposition parties for their views. “Will @RahulGandhi @SitaramYechury @laluprasadrjd @MayawatiUP support a private member bill on Ayodhya? They frequently ask the date ‘tarikh nahi bataenge’ (never tell the date) to @RSSorg @BJP4India, now onus on them to answer,” he had tweeted.

Reached for views on the issue, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an RSS affiliate, on Wednesday said there was no decision to put off their campaign to press the government to bring a legislation in Parliament for the construction of the temple in view of the upcoming hearing in the Supreme Court on January 4. “We have faith in the Supreme Court, but we are not going to wait till January 4. Since the issue has been pending for decades in courts, there are doubts and questions that have begun to emerge. People want to know the reason why the courts could be approached at midnight to sign the mercy petition for Yakub Memon (1993 Mumbai blast accused), and how cases such as Sabarimala were decided in no time, but the case related to Ramlala is taking forever,” said Surendra Jain, the joint general secretary of the VHP.

Though the government has said it will abide by the court’s decision on the issue, the delay in the court’s verdict was also flagged by Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during a public function in Lucknow on Tuesday during the inauguration of the 15th Conference of the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad. Prasad appealed to the Supreme Court to fast-track the Ayodhya title suit hearing and asked if the Sabarimala case could be fast-tracked, why has the Ayodhya case been pending in the court for the past 70 years