RSS chief wants Ram temple in Ayodhya; Muslim bodies say he's not above law

UDUPI: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat today made a strong pitch for the construction of a grand Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh.

The RSS chief made this remark while addressing a "Dharma Sansad" - a congregation of nearly 2,000 Hindu saints and mutt heads in the small temple town of Udupi.

''Nothing but a Ram Mandir would come up there,'' the RSS chief said.

"We will construct it. It is not a populist declaration but a matter of our faith. It will not change," Bhagwat said.

The RSS chief further said that after years of efforts and sacrifice, it (the construction of Ram temple) seemed possible now, while also noting that the matter was in the court.

"Only Ram Mandir will be constructed and nothing else. It will be constructed there only" (at the site that is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram), Bhagwat said.

He said the temple would be constructed in the same grandeur as it existed before, using the "same stones" under the guidance of those who were the flag-bearers of the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement for the last 25 years.

Meanwhile, several Muslim organisations today reacted sharply to Bhagwat's strong pitch for building a Ram Temple on the disputed site at Ayodhya.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) termed it as a direct challenge to the apex court before which the matter was pending, and demanded action against him.

They also alleged that the RSS chief was trying to help the BJP in the upcoming Gujarat elections by diverting the attention of voters from "real" issues with such statements.

"The AIMPLB has faith in the judiciary and will try to implement its order... By issuing this statement Mohan Bhagwat has taken the law into his hands," the spokesman of the AIMPLB, Maulana Khaild Saifullah Rehmani, said.

He demanded that the government take action against "such people who are openly showing disrespect to the courts and taking the law into their hands".

Bhagwat has issued "a one-sided statement that only a temple will be constructed at the site and this is unacceptable to us", Rehmani said, adding this amounts to showing disrespect to the court.

The convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee (BAMC) and member of the Board, Zafaryab Jilani, alleged that such remarks "challenging" the apex court are a serious threat to democracy.

Jilani, who is also a senior counsel, said that it appears that Bhagwat has tried to help the BJP in the Gujarat Assembly elections through his statement.

The spokesman of All India Shia Personal Law Board, Maulana Yasoob Abbas, said, "The RSS chief is not above the Supreme Court, he will also have to accept the court verdict".

"Despite the issue pending in the court, Mohan Bhagwat has given this statement only to divert the attention of voters in Gujarat from real issues," Abbas said.

The Supreme Court will on December 5 commence the final hearing on the cross-appeals filed against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute.

The high court had ruled a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acre area at Ayodhya among the parties - the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and the Ram Lalla.