Union Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday, 26 June, appealed to Rahul Gandhi, Mulayam Singh, Mamata and others to find a way to build the Ram Temple with the national consensus.
Uma also said that the construction of the temple shouldn't be associated with the 2019 elections. “If we connect this with the Lok Sabha elections, we won't be able to do it from the heart,” she said.
Uma’s comments came a day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, urged Hindu seers to show patience on the Ram Temple issue and follow democratic systems, even as Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas member Ram Vilas Vedanti said that its construction would start before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with or without court orders.
Addressing a "sant sammelan" (seers' meet) in Ayodhya, Adityanath said, "We live in the biggest democracy of the world and in this system, the judiciary, the executive and the legislature have their own roles. We have to keep those norms in mind.”
Stating that Lord Ram symbolised "maryada" (dignity) and the seers were his representatives in the society, he said all problems needed to be resolved while staying within the ambit of that dignity.
"The construction will take time but one thing is sure that it will start before the 2019 elections," he said.
"When Babur had come in 1528, he had not come with any court orders to demolish it...when Ram Lalla appeared in 1949, he did not appear as per any court orders," he said, adding that on 6 December, 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished, it was also not done as per any such directives.
Reacting to Vedanti's remarks, Iqbal Ansari, the son of Hashim Ansari, the main litigant in the case, said the matter was pending with the Supreme Court and whatever it decided would be acceptable to them.
In a veiled attack on the Congress, Adityanath said:
"Is it not the case that when the issue is heading towards a solution, these people are hatching other conspiracies?," he asked.
Not taking any names, Adityanath said, "I feel amazed when those people talk about Ramjanmabhoomi, who had fired upon Rambhakts (devotees of Lord Ram) in Ayodhya. I feel nice that Lord Ram has been able to put a word in their mouth about his place of birth. In a way, this is our victory."
"Those who caused maximum damage to the country's communal amity through their appeasement policies are talking about it. We should not forget that those who are (now) talking about social justice, had made efforts to weaken the Hindu society," he said.
On Ayodhya, Adityanath said, "Ayodhya has been ignored for years. We had forgotten our pilgrimage place. There was no effort to keep the place clean and it did not even have the basic facilities.”
"No effort was made to give it a global recognition. We had organised a grand celebration to give it a global recognition and also made the basic facilities available here."
Adityanath also blamed the previous governments at the Centre for not doing enough to get a global recognition for the "Kumbh Mela".
"In the past, efforts were made to present a distorted picture of the Kumbh. But thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has got an international recognition. All the seers should bless Modi," he said.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)