PTI
New Delhi, January 6
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today claimed that work on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya would start before this year-end and an action plan for that would be unveiled at a conference here on January 9.
He, however, made it clear that the temple would not come up through a movement but only after the court verdict, which he hoped would come by August-September and with the mutual consent of Muslim and Hindu communities.
“We expect the construction work on the Ram temple at Ayodhya to start within the next two-three months and certainly before the end of this year. We will wait for a court verdict and the temple would not come up through any ‘andolan’ (movement),” he told reporters at the VHP office here.
Asked if the decision was linked to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in early 2017, he said, “Rama should not be linked with elections. Rama is a matter of faith for Hindus and construction of the temple at Ayodhya is a commitment of every Hindu.”
He said if the issue comes up later, it will then be linked to the next Lok Sabha polls.
Swamy claimed that efforts are being made at resolving the issue amicably between Hindus and Muslims so that the temple and the masjid come up on both sides of the Saryu river in Ayodhya.
The issue will be discussed at the 2-day national conference in Delhi University on “Shree Ram Janambhoomi temple -The emerging scenario” which would see the coming together of 300 scholars, academics and archaeologists who would discuss legal and other aspects of the Ram Temple.
Among the speakers at the conference include legal experts, archaeologists and experts, besides historians and Swamy himself. It will be organised under the aegis of ‘Arundhati Vashisht Anusandhan Peeth’.
“An action plan will be presented at the conference and government urged to move the court and become a party in the case,” he said, adding, “If government supports us, we will start the construction work on the temple within two-three months”.
Talking about the case, he said, “it is in such a stage that the verdict is likely to come out by August or September this year.”
Swamy when asked about the controversy over the conference at Delhi varsity campus, said it is not a Delhi University sponsored event but an event for which a hall has been rented out and the same is being held on a weekend.
He also rubbished charges by Congress and Left that it was aimed at vitiating the campus atmosphere among students there.
“We will hold consultations with the Muslim community and help try to resolve the issue amicably,” he said, adding that the the Narasimha Rao government had in 1994 told the constitution bench of Supreme court that it will allow a temple to be rebuilt if it is proved that the site belongs to a temple.
The conference will discuss the history, archaeological evidence and the legal issues relating to the Ayodhya temple.
Muslims in favour of Ram temple: RSS leader
Many Muslims “desire” to take the initiative to facilitate the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya and there may be a “mass movement” from within the community for the same in 2016, claims senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar.
Kumar, who is the mentor of RSS’ Muslim outreach wing Muslim Rashtriya Manch, talked to The Hindu telephonically after releasing a book Sri Ram Mandir here.
“I am in touch with many Muslims who say they will take the initiative to build a Ram temple at Ayodhya. They may begin a mass movement for this in 2016,” he said.
Kumar cited the example of Hasan Khan Mewati, who, he said, fought against Mughal king Babur alongside Rajput king Rana Sanga, saying he was the role model Indian Muslims wanted to follow.
Saffron groups have been gradually raising the pitch for a Ram temple. Parties such as the BSP and the Congress see this as a bid to polarise Uttar Pradesh that goes to the polls in 2017, though the Ayodhya title suit is pending before the Supreme Court.
‘No possibility of mosque’
Mohammad Afzal, who heads the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, said his organisation wanted to provide a platform to Hindus and Muslims to amicably settle the dispute.
However, Mr. Afzal has a definition of ‘settlement’ that eliminates the possibility of a mosque at the site. “No Muslim organisation has been able to prove ownership rights over the land at Ayodhya. There can either be a Ram temple or status quo,” Afzal said.
