Ram Temple matter is sub-judice, we can't do anything: UP deputy CM KP Maurya

New Delhi: KP Maurya said on Friday that his government cannot take a call on the Ram Temple matter as it is sub-judice before the Supreme Court.

At a time when the chorus for Ram Temple is gaining momentum, the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said that his government's priority was the development of Ayodhya. "Ram temple matter is sub-judice before SC, we can't do anything about it. But no one is stopping us from erecting a grand statue of 'Ram Lalla' in Ayodhya. If someone stops us, we'll see. No one can stop us from developing Ayodhya," he told news agency ANI.

While Maurya has said the matter is sub-judice, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had previously assured that construction of the Ram Temple would begin before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At the time, he had asked Hindu seers to have faith in the democratic system of the country. He would later also urge Supreme Court to take a decision in the matter as it had in the case of Sabarimala.

The ruling BJP - both in UP and at the Centre - has been questioning the opposition intentions regarding Ram Temple at a time when the party itself is under attack from the likes of Shiv Sena. In an editorial in Saamna, its mouthpiece, Sena questioned why an ordinance has not yet been brought for the Ram Temple.

Last month, on October 29, Supreme Court adjourned the land dispute hearing till January of the next year. Meanwhile, Ram Vilas Vedanti, President of Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, said that a Ram Temple would be built in Ayodhya through mutual consent while a masjid would be constructed in Lucknow.