Published On : Wed, Dec 19th, 2018

Ayodhya Dispute: Ram Temple Should be Built Through Mutual Consent, Says Nitin Gadkari

Advertisement

New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday raked up the issue of Ram Temple construction and said that the temple should be built in Ayodhya through mutual consent. Talking at an event, Gadkari said, “Ayodhya issue is not a communal issue and is not religious as well. Lord Rama is a symbol of our history, culture, and heritage. It has been proven that the temple was there. If Ram temple cannot be built at birthplace in Hindustan then where should it be? Crores of people’s sentiments and desire are that Ram temple should be built there.”

The senior BJP leader also said that the issue is linked to India’s rich culture, heritage, and history. The minister also said this sentiment was earlier also in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agenda and remains at present as well.

“There are three ways for it – matter is in court, it can be through mutual consent or by any decision in Parliament through 2/3rd majority. But I believe it should happen through mutual consent. our fabric is ‘sarvadharma sambhav’. it should be based on this,” Gadkari, who holds several key portfolios in the Cabinet, said.

On October 29, the Supreme Court had adjourned the hearing of the Ayodhya title suit case until January 2019. The apex court had adjourned the matter, which challenged the Allahabad High Court verdict of 2010 that ruled that the disputed land in Ayodhya should be divided into three parts for each party – the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lala. (ALSO READ: Why Has PM Modi Not Yet Visited Ayodhya: Shiv Sena Rakes up Ram Temple Construction Issue)

Commenting on the assembly election results, Gadkari said winning or losing is part of democracy. “Anything can happen in cricket and politics,” he said, adding that while vote percentage margin was negligible in one state election, anti-incumbency factors were there in others, but BJP will look into all aspects and reform it.

Rejecting that these results in any way would impact the Lok Sabha results, Gadkari said his party was confident of a being victor in 2019 with a reasonable and comfortable margin.

The BJP suffered a biggest electoral setback in the recently held assembly elections. The saffron party lost power to the Congress in all three major states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan — it ruled, and its ambition of emerging as a strong power in Telangana all but evaporated as its tally fell to one seat from the earlier five.