#DHRecaps | Ram Temple again takes centre stage

The Ram temple issue stormed back to the centre stage in 2018 with the saffron outfits and the BJP raking it up apparently with an eye on the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organised a huge 'dharam sabha' (religious meet) in the temple town of Ayodhya in November to mobilise the seers and the 'Rambhakts' (the disciples of Lord Rama).

While senior BJP leaders kept saying that they would wait for the Supreme Court verdict on the contentious issue and that there was no move, as yet, to make law for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the saffron outfits and Hindu seers virtually put the NDA government on notice warning that they could "dump" it in the next general elections if it failed to build the Ram temple.

While BJP leaders remained evasive on the issue, at least one senior and respected seer claimed that he had been assured by a "very important" Union minister that Ram temple would be constructed before the next general elections.

RSS leaders, who also attended the 'dharam sabha' asked the Centre to take the legislative route for building the Ram temple.

Udhav Thackeray, the president of BJP's alliance partner Shiv Sena, also paid his maiden visit to Ayodhya and slammed the BJP for "dilly-dallying" on the temple issue.

The Muslim outfits, however, made it clear that they would prefer the court verdict rather than a brokered settlement of the issue.

They also said that they would approach the courts if the Centre made a law for construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.