Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The Supreme Court must deliver its judgment on the contentious Ram Mandir dispute soon else the Uttar Pradesh government will solve it in 24 hours, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has claimed. “If the court can’t decide, let us take it forward. We will resolve the Ram Temple issue in 24 hours,” he said.

Yogi, who appeared on an India TV show, also said that any further delay in the judgment would only disappoint the citizens. “…If there is an unnecessary delay, institutions may lose people’s trust. It is causing a crisis so far as people’s patience and trust are concerned,” CM Adityanath said.

Taking a jibe at opposition parties over appeasement politics, Yogi said, “If Ayodhya dispute is resolved, triple talaq ban is implemented, politics of appeasement in India will end forever.”

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said “the matter is before the judiciary, let it be completed” and “once it comes from the judiciary, wherever the responsibility of a government begins, we are ready to make all efforts”.

In an interview with ANI, Modi had said, “The judicial process should be allowed to run according to the law. It should not be weighed in political terms. The matter is before the judiciary, let it be completed. Once it comes from the judiciary, wherever the responsibility of a government begins, we are ready to make all efforts.”

The apex court yesterday reconstituted the five-judge bench hearing the dispute by including Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice Abdul Nazeer in the case. Besides the trio, Justices S A Bobde and D Y Chandrachud will also hear the matter on January 29. Justice N V Ramana, who was earlier a part of the bench, was excluded.

The move came nearly two weeks after Justice U U Lalit recused himself from the case, since he had appeared as a lawyer in an Ayodhya-related matter in the past. Justice Lalit decided to recuse after senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, representing one of the parties in appeal, pointed out that the judge had appeared as a counsel for BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who was Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Masjid was demolished, in a contempt matter related to the demolition in 1997.

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