‘Work on Ram temple may start before December’

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Sunday claimed that work on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya could start before the end of this year.

He expressed confidence that the final verdict by the Supreme Court will pave the way for the construction of a temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Mr Swamy was speaking on the second and concluding day of a seminar titled, “Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Temple: Emerging Scenario” organised amid tight security at Delhi University’s Arts Faculty by Arundhati Vashishtha Anusandhan Peeth, a research organisation founded by late VHP leader Ashok Singhal.

“After there is victory in court on the Ram Temple case, then in Krishna mandir in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath, we will win easily because the evidence is clearcut. This is the more difficult case,” Mr Swamy said. He said in Ayodhya, another mosque can be built near the Sarayu river but added that it should not be named after Babur. Separately, in a tweet, he said, “We Hindus offer Lord Krishna’s package to Muslims - give us 3 temples and keep 39,997 masjids. I hope Muslim leaders don’t become Duryodhans.”

In the Mahabharat, for the sake of peace, and to avert a disastrous war, Lord Krishna had proposed that if Hastinapur agrees to give the Pandavas five villages, they would be satisfied and would make no more demands.

Kaurava prince Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he shall not part even with land as much as the point of a needle.

Additional solicitor-generals Ashok Mehta and G. Rajagopalan spoke about the legal issues and evidence in the matter.

Mr Rajagopalan claimed that there was strong evidence in favour of building a temple. Some of the speakers also expressed concern over the pace of judicial proceedings in the matter. A press conference, which was scheduled on Sunday, was however postponed to Tuesday.