BJP remembers Lord Ram only before polls, says Samajwadi MP

Taking a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament (MP) Surendra Singh Nagar on Sunday claimed that the party remembers Lord Ram only when elections are approaching.

"Due to elections, parties will now use Lord Ram. The BJP government has completed four-and-a-half years (of its term), they had promised to construct Ram Mandir once they came into power in the state and the Centre. But just a few months before elections they are reminded of the temple," Singh told ANI.

He further accused the BJP government of using the Ram Temple as a means of garnering votes ahead of the elections.

On September 26, the Supreme Court declined to refer the Ayodhya land dispute case to a larger constitutional bench and said it will begin hearing the Ayodhya matter from October 29 to decide the suit on merit.

The apex court also held that all religions and religious places need to be equally respected.

The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was on December 6, 1992 razed to the ground allegedly by a group of Hindu activists who claimed that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram Temple that originally stood there.