Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take cues from the first Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel and see that a Bill facilitating the construction of Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya was passed by Parliament, said Swami Akhileshwaranandagiri of Jabalpur.

Addressing a Janagriha Sabhe organised by the Dharwad district unit of the Vishwa Hindu Parishat at Murusavira Math Grounds here on Sunday to assert the need for construction of Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, the seer said that the BJP pledged commitment to the cause of Ram Mandir in its Palampur conclave and also reiterated it in its manifesto.

The BJP should remember that Patel had made it his life’s mission to construct the Somnath Mandir at its original site and demonstrated greater political will to bring in a Bill to this effect ignoring the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s opposition and accomplished the task.

Mr. Modi, who also hails from Gujarat, should follow in the footsteps of Patel in the case of Ram Mandir and see all hurdles in the way of constructing the temple were done away with through legislation, he said.

He added that the Hindu saints do not doubt the commitment of the BJP to construction of the temple at Ayodhya. However, the prolonged delay in settling this case in a court of law was making the Hindu population lose patience. The anguish simmering in the hearts of Hindu society may erupt and lead to violence if the final settlement in favour of the Mandir gets procrastinated further. Therefore, the BJP should demonstrate political will to sort out this issue through the medium of legislation, he said and added that division of the Janmabhumi property was not at all acceptable to them.

Earlier, Basavananda Swami of Managundi Mahamane, a prominent Lingayat Mutt, said that no one objected to when the names of Allahabad and Faizabad were restored to their original as Prayagraj and Ayodhya. Similarly, no one would oppose if the government places a Bill to clear the hurdles in the way of construction of a temple at Ayodhya. He said that the settlement of this issue post-Independence was put off in favour of vote-bank politics. Now, everyone understood that the days of appeasement have gone. Even the Muslim community would not oppose the construction of the temple at Ram Janmabhumi in Ayodhya, he said.

Sri Gangadhareshwara Saraswati of Swarnavalli Math and Jain seer Hemachandra Surishwaraji said that the government should see that temple construction was made possible through legislation. A law should be framed before the upcoming general elections and it should be not put off further, they said.

Later, the seers submitted a memorandum to the Dharwad Lok Sabha MP Pralhad Joshi urging his support for their cause inside the House. Seers of different mutts, BJP legislators and leaders from the district were present in the audience.