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Updated: Jan 29, 2019 09:12 IST

The ruling BJP’s core group in Uttar Pradesh met at chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence on Monday to talk about the ‘frequent delays’ in the Ayodhya case, an issue that the UP cabinet could discuss in its first meeting on the banks of the Sangam at the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Tuesday.

The buzz is that the UP cabinet might pass a proposal on the Ram temple. However, the rumoured resolution on Ram temple isn’t part of the formal agenda of the cabinet, a senior leader confirmed.

People privy to the matter said the BJP core group comprising Adityanath, the party’s UP general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal and two deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, discussed the probability of a formal appeal being made to the Supreme Court to expedite the case.

People familiar with the issue in the government said Adityanath and his cabinet ministers could also discuss the issue at their cabinet meeting and might pass a formal proposal to honour public sentiments and the need to expedite the hearing of the Ayodhya dispute.

Asked if the UP government also proposed to write to the Supreme Court or urge the centre to make a formal request before the top court where the Ayodhya title dispute has been pending since 2010, a senior leader privy to the core group meeting said, “Wait and watch.”

Adityanath, who is also head priest of the Gorakhnath temple, had in an interview to a private news channel said the patience of the people on the “Ram temple issue” was running out. He had also said if the Supreme Court was unable to deliver a verdict, they were capable of settling the issue in 24 hours.

The title suit hearing, which was expected to begin on January 29 in the court of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, has been delayed.

The case has been pending before the top court since 2010 when 14 cross-appeals were filed against an Allahabad high court judgment dividing 2.77 acres of disputed land equally among three parties.

Asked about details of the core group meeting, UP BJP leader Chandramohan said, “Why get into details when the big picture is clear? As a responsible political party, we are alive to possibility of respecting public sentiment. Ram temple is an act of faith for millions of Hindus across the globe and we would do everything possible to honour that sentiment.”

The core group meeting came a day before BJP chief Amit Shah travels to Kanpur and Lucknow for meetings that includes an interaction with booth level cadre of the Avadh region that comprises 15 districts and 33,000 booths.

Meanwhile, an official spokesman said a three-point agenda has been communicated to the council of ministers. The items listed include a proposal to amend the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi (21st amendment) Rules 1965, inclusion of leprosy patients in eligibility criteria of Mukhya Mantri Avas Yojana (Rural) and transfer operation of Shahjahanpur Mahila Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari Sangh to National Dairy Development Board for five years.

Amid reports that the state cabinet may discuss the Ram temple issue and consider writing to the Supreme Court for an early hearing, the spokesman said there was no such item on the cabinet’s agenda.

Prior to the cabinet meeting, the chief minister and his council of ministers, who will reach Prayagraj early on Tuesday, would have ‘darshan’ at the Hanuman temple in the Kumbh Mela area and Akshyavat at Akbar’s fort there. After the meeting at the Prayagraj Development Authority’s meeting hall, the chief minister and all the cabinet ministers, including the two deputy chief ministers, will also take a holy dip at the Sangam (after the cabinet meeting).”