Ram Temple back in spotlight

The chanting of ‘Jai Shriram’ at the counting centres across most parts of the state and BJP offices after the saffron party’s huge win signaled that the Ram Temple issue may be back on the party’s agenda.

At the BJP headquarters as well as in Ayodhya, from where BJP nominee Ved Prakash Gupta romped home by defeating UP Minister Tej Narain Pandey, slogans rented the air as reports of the party’s march to power trickled in.

A senior BJP leader said that the Ram Temple issue was already on the party’s agenda. “We are committed to building a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya... we will now have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha also... we will fulfill all our promises, including building the Ram Temple,” he said.

The saint community in Ayodhya also said that the centre should now enact a legislation to pave the way for a Ram Temple.

“The BJP now has the mandate of the people of the country and also of the state... there should now be no problem in the construction of the Ram Temple,” said a VHP leader in Ayodhya. Firebrand saffron leader and MP Yogi Adityanath and other BJP leaders have also been clamouring for the Ram Temple.

State BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya, however, said that his party would abide by the order of the Supreme Court on the issue.