BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allocate land in Ayodhya for building the Ram temple and also declare the Ram Setu a national heritage monument.
In a letter to Modi, Swamy said that the government required no permission from the Supreme Court to allocate land for constructing the temple as it was taken over by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao’s dispensation in 1993.
"There is no bar in law which stands in the way of the Government of India allocating the 67.72 acres of land in Ayodhya to anybody which has a public character for building the Ram Temple. The government can inform the Supreme Court that compensation, as decided by the court, will be paid to the winning appellant," he said.
Swamy argued that the Narasimha Rao government had nationalised the entire land, both disputed and undisputed, therefore the Supreme Court should only be concerned about compensation.
He said the Centre should assure the apex court that just compensation will be paid to the decided title holder as determined by it.
The Ayodhya land dispute is pending in the Supreme Court.
In January, the Modi government filed an application in the apex court, seeking its nod to return over 67 acre surplus land around the disputed area to its original owner, Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, a trust formed for construction of the temple.
Swamy, in his letter, said the government's submission in the court was made "erroneously" as it required no permission because the land remained in its possession.
The government needs no permission from any authority to allocate land to anybody in public interest, he claimed.
He also demanded that the Ram Setu be declared a national heritage monument.
“The issue was cleared by the Ministry of Culture but did not come up for approval at the Cabinet level for whatever reason. My request to you is that the Union of India counsels in the Supreme Court be directed to make a statement that the government has agreed to recognize the Rama Setu as a National Heritage Monument," he said.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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