Temple will be constructed where Ram was born: Keshav Prasad Maurya

Amid growing demand for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday said that the temple of Lord Ram would be constructed where he was born.

"The temple will be constructed where Lord Ram was born. No building on Babur's name will be constructed there. The matter is in the Supreme Court. That is why I say that 'Mandir bhavya banayenge, lekin tareek Rahul Gandhi batayenge' (A grand temple will be constructed, but Rahul Gandhi will tell the date)," Maurya told media here.

Maurya's statement comes days after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a campaign rally in Chhattisgarh said that once Ram temple is built in his maternal state Chhattisgarh, it will also be constructed in Ayodhya.

"During my earlier visit I had said once Lord Ram's temple is constructed at his maternal residence, then it will certainly be built at his birthplace too," Adityanath said.

As per Indian mythology, Ram has a deep connect with Chhattisgarh as his mother Kaushalya was from Kaushal near Raipur and he himself spent 14 years in exile while living in Dantkarni jungles now in Chhattisgarh. It is the same area where his wife Sita was abducted.

The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was on December 6, 1992, razed to the ground allegedly by Hindu activists, claiming that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram temple that originally stood there. Since then, several hearings have been held in the Supreme Court regarding this matter.

On October 29, 2018, the apex court adjourned the Ayodhya title suit till next year to fix a date for the hearing. The court was hearing a petition, challenging the 2010 ruling of the Allahabad High Court, which divided the disputed land into three parts.