Work on Ram temple at Ayodhya to start soon, says BJP MP Swamy

Construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya (UP) may start within the ‘next couple of months’, said BJP MP Subramanyan Swamy, at a seminar in Patna on Sunday

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, on Sunday, called upon the Muslim community to cooperate in the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, referring to the site which has been under dispute. “The construction of the temple will begin in the next couple of months,” he stated.

BJP MP Subramanyan Swamy (centre) and KN Govindacharya (left), at a seminar in Patna on Sunday. (Santosh/HT photo)

Swamy was here to participate in a seminar on the topic, ‘Ram, Ram Mandir Evam Hindu Punarjagaran’, organised by the state unit of the Viraat Hindu Sangam,of which he is national president. He was accompanied by one time RSS ideologue and BJP leader KN Govindacharya.

The Hindus’ belief that a Ram temple had once existed at the disputed site in Ayodhya, had been ‘validated’ from different quarters, the BJP leader said.

Swamy referred to the recent suggestion of the Supreme Court that the parties settle the issue through talks and to the CJI’s offer to mediate in the dispute, if required. He expressed hope that the other community (the Muslims) would support the temple construction move as it would be in consonance with Indian culture.

Swamy said dismantling of mosques was not something new. It had happened in several Islamic countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and Yemen, he claimed.

The BJP leader, who filed a case in the SC for temple construction, citing it as an issue of fundamental rights, lauded former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao for being ‘sympathetic’ to the Ram temple cause. But the two were ‘restrained’ by some other Congress leaders, he claimed.

Swamy said the quest for the temple began in 1949 when some people found idols of gods at the disputed site. “The temple could have been a reality long ago, but lack of unity among Hindus came in its way. The building of the Ram Temple will usher in Ram Rajya in UP and the country”, he claimed.

Urging political parties “to see the writing on the wall”, Swamy cited the progressive increase in the BJP’s vote share as sign of larger public support for the Ram temple. The day was not far when other parties would also subscribe to the Ram temple cause, he said.

Govindacharya said he had offered three options to the Muslim community leaders to shed their claim on the disputed site. “These included a complete shifting of the (Babri) mosque with help of technology, to the other side of Saryu river in Ayodhya,” he added.

Director of Indira Gandhi national centre for the arts Ram Bahadur Rai said court verdicts had ‘corroborated’ to the existence of a temple at the site. “But there is some dispute, as to who actually dismantled the old temple. Many said Babar did it, but retired Bihar IPS officer Kishore Kunal, in his recent book, named Aurangzeb as the real culprit,” said Rai.