Yogi for starting Ram temple construction

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that Hindus should be permitted to start construction of Ram temple on what he termed ''undisputed'' land in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid Complex in Ayodhya.

Muslim leaders and clerics, however, made it clear that they would oppose any move to take over any portion of the acquired land. The BJP did not want ''resolution'' of the dispute and, hence, was trying to complicate matters, they said.

''The undisputed land should be given to the Hindus....permission should be given to start construction of Ram temple on that land,'' Adityanath told reporters at Kumbh in Prayagraj.

Firebrand saffron leader Vinay Katiyar also said that Ram temple construction could start once the ''undisputed'' land was given back to the government.

Echoing Muslim leaders' and clerics' stand, Zafaryab Jilani, the lawyer for the Sunni Central Waqf Board said, ''We will oppose it in court''.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member and Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahali also echoed a similar sentiment. ''The matter is in court....let the court decide who should be given the land,'' the cleric said.

''BJP does not want a resolution of the issue...it is trying to complicate it further,'' said another Muslim cleric.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the main plaintiffs in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suits, said that he did not have any objection to handing over the ''undisputed'' land to the government.

Chief priest differs

Chief priest at the makeshift Ram temple Acharya Satyendra Das said the real dispute was over 2.77 acres of land. ''Without resolving the ownership of 2.77 acres land, the issue will not be settled,'' he said.