Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya Saturday refused to commit on a date for the “construction” of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying the matter was being heard by court, but instead made a case for a Ram statue on a day when a section of politically inclined seers hinted on a move forward in December.

In Jaipur, Union HRD minister and party’s poll incharge for Rajasthan said at a press conference that the Ram temple was never a poll issue for the saffron party and asked the Congress to clarify its stand on the matter, days after leader Shashi Tharoor’s remark that “no good Hindu” would want the temple built after demolishing somebody else’s place of worship.

Asked if the BJP was making it an election issue, Javadekar said for the saffron party, it was “a matter of faith”.

Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad also held a press conference in Jaipur where he said for the Congress, “the issue was development”.

He also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on issues of farm distress, corruption, unemployment and safety of women. Javadekar “challenged” the Congress to debate on employment. “But their strategy is ‘spit and run’. They make allegations and run. But we are open to discussion.”

Speaking to Hindustan Times over phone in Lucknow, Maurya said, “Since the matter is in court, we won’t be able to set a temple date. But yes, who can stop us from coming up with a grand statue of the Lord in Ayodhya? Who can stop us from developing the temple town?”

His comments came on a day when a group of Hindu seers pushing for the Ram temple met in Delhi. Former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti, of the Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas, said the temple construction would start from December 6, the day when the Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished 25 years ago.

The Congress was quick to point this out and attack the BJP for “double-speak”. “After suggesting all this while that they are working on a temple law, now they suddenly announce that they would abide by the court,” Congress’s secretary Devendra Pratap Singh said.

He referred to the build-up in Delhi and Vedanti’s comments to say “the BJP was trying to fool people who would show it its rightful place in the 2019 polls”.

Earlier, Union minister Niranjan Jyoti had also made a similar declaration in Unnao. “Wait till December,” she said when HT asked her about her views on whether the BJP could bring a law to push its temple agenda ahead of the general elections.

The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute is being heard by the Supreme Court which has listed the matter for the first week of January 2019.

Maurya, who had earlier said that legislation would be considered if the top court doesn’t arrive at a “consensus”, asserted that no structure in the name of Mughal emperor “Babur would come up in Ayodhya”.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh had said during a visit to Varanasi recently: “It would be nice and everyone would be happy if a temple comes up.”

First Published: Nov 03, 2018 17:58 IST