Yoga guru Baba Ramdev backs legislation for Ram Temple if court delays judgement

NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev on Saturday said that Parliament should legislate on the construction of Ram Temple if there is delay in the judgment by the court.

Ramdev said there could be sections averse to bringing a legislation for the construction of a temple in Ayodhya but there was no opposition to Ram in India.

"If the apex court does not take a decision on the matter soon, then Parliament is the highest institution in a democracy and there is nothing wrong in bringing a legislation," Ramdev told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day conference at Patanjali Yogpeeth.

"Ayodhya mein Ram Mandir nahin banega toh aur kya banega (What else will be built in Ayodhya if not a Ram temple)," he said.

Ramdev's statement has come in the backdrop of an increasing rhetoric by the right-wing groups who have publicly criticised SC's decision to postpone the hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi case hearing till January 2019.

The Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Ram Vilas Vedanti on Saturday claimed that the temple construction will begin next month.

Vedanti's statement came a day after Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey claimed that CM Yogi Adityanath has a plan for the Ayodhya issue, which would be revealed around Diwali.

Earlier on Friday, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said that his organisation "will not hesitate to launch a 1992-like agitation for Ram Temple, if needed.

A section of the Hindu right wing and even few members of the BJP have demanded an ordinance to permit the construction of the Ram temple before the Supreme Court pronounces the judgement in the Ayodhya title suit.

On October 29, the apex court had adjourned the hearing of the case until January 2019. The court was hearing petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict of 2010, which stated that the 2.77 acres of the disputed land in Ayodhya should be divided into three parts for each party - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lala. Fourteen appeals have been filed against a 2010 Allahabad High Court judgement.

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, by a group of some Hindu activists, claiming that the mosque was constructed by Mughal king Babur after demolishing a Ram Temple that originally stood there. Since then, several hearings have been held in the top court to resolve the issue.

(Inputs from agencies)