Party leadership not discussing temple ordinance yet: Yogi

LUCKNOW : Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday made it clear the issue of pressing for a law or an ordinance on Ram temple wasn’t being discussed by the BJP leadership.

“No discussions have taken place about the ordinance yet,” Adityanath said in Lucknow two days after the apex court decided to defer the Ayodhya case hearing till January 2019.

The BJP leadership didn’t hide its ‘disappointment’ at the decision. “The Indian judiciary is free and the public’s faith in it should be maintained. The nation wants a solution to the dispute regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi. We hope the issue will be resolved soon,” Adityanath said.

Many in the RSS and the VHP favour an ordinance to pave the way for a temple.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has been consistently talking of the possibility of legislation if court and consensus fail.

“Consensus would be the best solution but yes, there are other possibilities too,” Adityanath had said on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of BJP government at the centre pushing for a law ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Ram temple issue had

found a mention in BJP manifesto for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls and now the Bharatiya Janata Party is under pressure from several quarters, including

saints, to initiate steps for a temple.

Former VHP chief Pravin Togadia, who was in eastern UP on Tuesday, said, “I can’t comment

on the court decision. But I must say that the kind of push that was required from the BJP government for the temple cause didn’t happen.”