BJP can't mislead nation on Ram temple issue, says Khurshid

Asserting that the matter concerning the Ram temple in Ayodhya is before the Supreme Court, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said the BJP has raised this issue several times, and added that it can't mislead the nation any more.

"They have raised this not once, but many a times. They have even formed the government after that. Why didn't they do it when their government was at the Centre? And the second thing is that this matter is before the Supreme Court. One can move ahead only after getting the Supreme Court's orders," said Khurshid.

"People have become clever now and they won't be misled," he added.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's aide and BJP's Uttar Pradesh in-charge, Amit Shah, earlier in the day said that a grand temple of Lord Ram would be built in Ayodhya soon.

Shah, who visited the Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, said that he had come to offer his prayers to Lord Ram.

"It is a center of faith for crores of Hindus. I have prayed that there should be good governance in the country and making it free of the Congress. I have also prayed that we should all together build a grand temple for Lord Ram here as soon as possible," he told the media here.

The construction of Ram temple at the dispute site in Ayodhya has always been in BJP's top agenda, but it was put on the back burner after formation of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).