On Friday, the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat confidently declared a Ram Temple would be built on the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya. At a meet in Udipi city in Karnataka, Bhagwat made this bold statement in front of 2,000 Hindu saints and leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
“We will construct it. It is not a populist declaration but a matter of our faith. It will not change,” Bhagwat was quoted saying.
On the 5th of December, the Supreme Court will hear 13 petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court’s verdict. The High Court, in 2010, ruled the land must be divided among the three disputing parties, the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi retaliated at the RSS Chief’s statement saying Bhagwat was “playing with fire.”
He was quoted saying, “The obnoxious statement by the RSS Chief clearly gives a message that the RSS is assuming to be the Supreme Court. The RSS is trying to give a message that they know what the judgment of the Apex Court will be, and that would be on the basis of ‘aastha’ (faith) but not on evidence or Constitution.”
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy defended Bhagwat against Owaisi. Swamy said, “What is obnoxious in this? He has made an absolutely logical statement. I too have made this statement earlier because the arguments are very strong.”
He further added attacking Bhagwat “is a favorite sport with some Muslim leaders.”
The dispute over the land in Ayodhya blew out of proportion in 1992 when Hindu extremists destroyed the Babri Masjid on the 2.77 acre land.
