Ram temple promise is not a Jumla: Ram Madhav

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday shrugged off Shiv Sena's allegations that the former party spun a jumla (lie) about constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav came in defense of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who accused Congress of stalling the Ram Janambhoomi case in the Supreme Court and reiterated that his party is committed towards constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Earlier in the day while addressing his party workers in Mumbai, Thackeray criticised Prime Minister Modi for failing to construct Ram temple. Thackeray said that the BJP fired a "Jumla" about constructing the Ram Temple.

"We have repeatedly shown our commitment to the construction of Ram Temple. Our government is doing everything possible to make sure legal process moves quickly. The Congress is trying to stall the judicial process," Madhav told ANI.

The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case has been pending before the apex court for last eight years. Parties in the case and various right-wing organisations have been asking for an early or day-to-day hearing for a long time.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi accused the Congress of creating obstacles in the resolution of Ayodhya issue saying the opposition party does not want a solution.

Arguments from politicos came days after the Supreme Court fixed January 29 as the next date of hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute after Justice UU Lalit recused himself from hearing the case. A new bench will now be constituted.

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, and comprising of Justice SA Bobde, Justice NV Ramana, Justice UU Lalit and Justice DY Chandrachud, at the outset said that there will be no hearing in the case on Thursday adding that only date and schedule will be decided.

Justice UU Lalit recused himself from hearing the case after advocate Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for Muslim parties, pointed out that Justice Lalit had appeared for Kalyan Singh in a related case.

There are as many as 14 appeals pending in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgement, delivered in four civil suits. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court in its September 30, 2010, verdict ordered that the disputed site be divided into three parts -- one for deity (Ramlala Virajmaan), another for Nirmohi Akhara - a Hindu sect - and a third one, to the original litigant in the case for the Muslims.

The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1578 in Ayodhya was on December 6, 1992, pulled down allegedly by a group of Hindu activists, claiming that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram Temple that originally stood here. Since then, several hearings have been held in the top court to resolve the issue.