Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set at rest speculation that he may on hardline pressure, opt for an ordinance to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the disputed site pre-empting the final judgment of the Supreme Court. With a mere couple of days left for the apex court to fix a date for hearing the appeals challenging the Allahabad High Court order in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, it is wise of the Government to wait for the verdict having waited for decades to find a solution to the issue. His assertion in an interview with ANI news agency that the responsibility of the government would begin when the judiciary delivers its verdict, makes perfect sense. It would be in the fitness of things if the apex court would also deal with the suit on priority and not drag its feet. The issue has assumed such emotive proportions that any further delay in the court announcing its verdict would give a handle to hardliners to press their case for a quickfix solution that could mar the uneasy peace in Ayodhya. In these politically-surcharged times, Modi’s blame on Congress lawyers for slowing down the process of decision-making by creating obstructions may be overdrawn but it is vital that all cobwebs be cleared so that the judicial process is completed post-haste.
Significantly, Congress lawyer and former minister Kapil Sibal had advocated delay in deciding the case until after the general elections apparently fearing that the judgment would be used as a political tool to raise the pitch for the construction of the Ram temple to exploit the issue electorally. What matters most is that the issue must be resolved peacefully and amicably.