Uma Bharati (L) and Giriraj Singh (file photo)

NEW DELHI: Though BJP maintains silence over VHP’s demand for a law to facilitate construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya — a move backed by RSS —voices in the saffron family demanding a quick resolution are growing with junior law minister P P Chaudhary on Sunday saying legal options must be explored as the title suit was pending in court for several years.

Chaudhary termed it his personal opinion but said any bid to support building of the temple should be welcomed. His comment came on the second day of a two-day congregation of top Hindu seers who iterated their demand for construction of the temple in Ayodhya at the earliest.

At the end of its deliberations, the Akhil Bhartiya Sant Samiti called for a legislation to facilitate temple construction. “We direct the government to either bring in a law or an ordinance (for the construction of the Ram temple),” Ramanand Hansdevacharya, the patron of the organisation, told the conclave.

A sked about party MP Rakesh Sinha’s plan to bring a private member's bill for construction of the Ram temple, Choudhary said any decision on the part of the government would be a collective one. “We should see how a temple can be constructed within the four corners of law, which is a matter of deliberation,” the minister said.

Indications are that while the BJP leadership believes the VHP’s demand is justified in terms of the seven years that the appeal by all parties against the Allahabad high court verdict dividing the disputed plot three ways has been pending in the SC, a larger discussion was needed on whether a law or an ordinance could be considered. This may take some time and BJP is unlikely to shed its strategic ambiguity on the issue any time soon.

Union minister Uma Bharati said while Hindus were the “most tolerant” people in the world, any talk of constructing a mosque on the periphery of a Ram temple in Ayodhya could make them “intolerant”. Junior minister for micro, small and medium enterprises Giriraj Singh , too, called for early construction of the temple.

Bharati invited Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to lay the foundation stone of the temple in Ayodhya with her, saying he would “atone for the sins” of his party by doing so. Giriraj said no power in world could stop construction of Ram temple. “Prabhu Sri Ram is the cornerstone of the faith . There is resentment and impatience among the people as cold water has been thrown on their hopes, but a way out will be chalked out. No power in the world can stop construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said.

