RSS pushes for Ram temple as BJP faces hard times

NEWDELHI: The ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has revived the Ayodhya Ram temple card, even as fortunes of the ruling party look endangered in electionbound states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress is seen in a surge in the two states, as also in the southern state of Telangana while Chhatisgarh is seen a close call.

The Rafale ighter jet deal is seen to have tainted the BJP, and issues that directly hit the people - like fuel and food prices and unemployment - are impacting the elections. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has thus found the need to revive the temple card before it gets too late.

On Monday the Supreme Court had put off hearing on the Babri Masjid-ram Janmabhoomi case to January, which means the card can’t be played in the elections to ive states in November.

A verdict may not be available even before the Lok Sabha polls.

The RSS on Wednesday released a long statement pressing the Narendra Modi government to make a law in Parliament for the construction of the Ram Temple.

“The government needs to acquire land for the construction of Ram Temple and make a law in this regard,” the RSS said.

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices KM Joseph and Sanjay Kishan Kaul deferred the matter on the hearing of a batch of petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 verdict that had divided the disputed land on the subjected area into three parts and stated that a new bench will decide the date for hearing of pleas in January 2019.

“We have our own priorities. Whether the matter will be heard in January, February or March, the appropriate bench will decide,” Gogoi said after a brief hearing.

“We will ix the date of hearing of the Ayodhya dispute case before the appropriate bench in irst week of January.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted after the court verdict that “delay in justice sometimes amounts to injustice.”

RSS chief spokesperson Arun Kumar released a statement saying, “the Sangh believes that a Ram temple should be constructed early at the birthplace of (Lord Ram) and should get land for temple construction at the birthplace. With the construction of the temple, an atmosphere of unity and harmony will be created.”