Bhagwat, Shah, Hindu saints discuss way forward in Ram temple issue

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, BJP president Amit Shah and Hindu saints Friday discussed ways to go ahead with the construction of a temple at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya, religious leaders who participated in the meeting said.

Bhagwat and saints present at the two-day Hindu Acharya Sabha meeting at Rajkot, which is 210 km from Ahmedabad, explicitly expressed the view that construction of the temple should start before May 2019, when the term of the Narendra Modi government ends, they said.

In the meeting, Shah gave the assurance that the temple will be built in Ayodhya, the Hindu leaders said.

"The issue was discussed in detail. One way is the legal route... Political leaders are doing their bit. Saints said they want to push for construction of Ram temple as early as possible," Acharya Satgiri Maharaj, who took part in the meeting which concluded on Friday, said.

"I hope they will do something in two-three months," said Satgiri Maharaj, who hails from Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

The Supreme Court is likely to hear the Babri Masjid- Ram Janmabhoomi title dispute in January.

When asked if the BJP was given an ultimatum to start the construction of the temple before the 2019 polls, Satgiri replied in the negative.

"Mohanji has expressed his desire that construction of the Ram temple should start before 2019 polls, but no ultimatum was given," Satgiri said.

Another saint said Shah shared details of the legal case during the meeting and spoke about the Supreme Court's possibility of taking up the matter in January.

"Shah assured us that the temple will be built at the same spot (in Ayodhya which is under dispute)," the saint said.

A third saint called for patience, saying, "They (RSS and BJP) will do whatever is required (for the construction of the temple)."