Hindutva leaders insist on Ram temple

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has more than once insisted on development plank being BJP’s main talking point for Uttar Pradesh  Assembly polls.

But the overarching campaign theme is threatened by Ayodhya seers, who insist that the BJP must commit to Ram temple if they want saffron support in Uttar Pradesh.

Chief priest of makeshift Ram temple at Ayodhya, Acharya Satyendra Das, expressed his disappointment over Modi government not taking interest in construction of Ram temple even after being in power for two and a half years.

“After the Modi government took over, we hoped that the temple would be constructed. Modi must visit Ayodhya, give us a guarantee and announce that he will get Ram temple constructed. Then we will mobilise the Hindu masses to vote for BJP as ‘mahant’ and ‘sadhu’ in Uttar Pradesh enjoy a strong following. If we support the BJP, it will definitely win,” said Das. The BJP over the years has diluted its stand on the temple issue, which crops up only at the time of elections.

Even the VHP has been pushing the Centre to expedite Babri mosque demolition case pending in the Supreme Court. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has filed a petition for early hearing of the matter by the apex court.

Though seers have raised the Hindutva matter, Culture minister Mahesh Sharma stressed that the elections will be fought on development plank and not on Ram temple.