Have they been sleeping for last 4 years?: Sibal

Targeting the BJP on Ayodhya issue, senior Congress MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday questioned the demand for bringing out an ordinance to build Ram Temple, saying the saffron party is raising it as elections are approaching.

"If they want to make a law, then make it. Congress hasn’t stopped them. This issue is raised as elections approach. Have they been sleeping for the last 4 years?" Sibal said.

He said the court will decide when will Ayodhya case be heard and neither Congress nor BJP can decide.

The remarks by Sibal, who had last year demanded in Supreme Court that the hearing on Ayodhya issue be postponed till next Lok Sabha elections, came as BJP and other Hindutva organisations like RSS and VHP demanded that the government take the ordinance route to build the Ram Temple.

The demand came as the Supreme Court set a January date for constituting a bench to hear the case and decide on when will the hearing start.

On Monday, Congress had dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make his stand clear on the demand for the ordinance.

The VHP was upset with the Supreme Court ruling, saying it had "avoided performance of its duty" in expeditiously hearing the matter pending before it since 2011. The RSS insisted that it has been proven that there was a temple at the site, which was demolished.

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Union Minister Giriraj Singh raised the pitch saying, "patience of Hindus is running out. I fear what will be the consequence if they lose their patience."

RSS chief spokesperson Arun Kumar said in a statement, "a Ram Temple should be constructed early… the Supreme Court should take an early decision and if there is any difficulty, the government should make a law to remove hurdles in the construction of the Ram temple to grant land at the Ram Janmabhoomi site".