UP Governor's Ram temple statement not Govt.'s official stand, says Naidu

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday dubbed Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik's statement that a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya to be the stand of an individual, saying one must react only if it is the official stand of the government.

"There is no government statement officially. If individuals express their opinion, there is no need to react at each and every thing," Naidu told the media outside the Parliament here.

"Even if a Governor he might have spoken as an individual about the intention or about the desire, but at the same time one can take note of it or react on that if it is a government statement or it's an official stand of the Government of India," he added while emphasizing that everything should not be sensitised.

The Uttar Pradesh Governor had earlier said that a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya soon as 'it is the wish of Indian citizens'.

"The Ram Temple should be built as soon as possible, this is what the people of this country want and their wishes should be fulfilled," he said at an event at Awadh University in Faizabad near Ayodhya.

80-year-old Naik's comment comes at a time when a united opposition is attacking the BJP-led government at the Centre over the recent religious conversions row in Agra.