Ayodhya verdict in our favour as BJP is in power: Guj MP

Mansukh Vasava, BJP MP of Bharuch in Gujarat, on Thursday claimed Supreme Court gave a verdict "in our favour" on the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya because a BJP government is at the Centre.

It drew condemnation from the Congress which demanded an apology and accused the MP of "fanning communal tension".

Vasava, however, later claimed he was only pointing to how the BJP government (at the Centre) was able to maintain law and order after the SC verdict was delivered on November 9.

The Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

Addressing a gathering of BJP workers in Bharuch town on Thursday evening, Vasava said, "The Ram Janmabhoomi issue was quite old. So many years went by. The Ram Janmabhoomi movement was going on even before India got independence. So many people were martyred and many took part in the movement (to build a Ram Temple at the disputed site)."