Govt should do what SC mandated, but politics over Lord Ram should end: Cong

As the Centre constituted a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress on Wednesday said the government should go ahead with the process mandated by the Supreme Court but the politics over Lord Ram should now end.

While delivering its judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid title dispute case on November 9 last year, the apex court had said the trust should be formed within three months for the construction of the temple at the site where many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born.

Four days before the expiry of the three-month deadline, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced in the Lok Sabha the constitution of a 15-member trust.

The Supreme Court had also ordered that five-acre land will be given to the Sunni Central Waqf Board in Ayodha at an alternative site.

Congress Spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said the government's decision was an outcome of the ruling of the Supreme Court.

"The Supreme Court had laid out all the instructions for the government to follow. The government is simply following Supreme Court's instructions. The day the Supreme Court verdict came out, the Congress had respected it and welcomed it," he said.

"So the government is going ahead and constructing (the temple) they should do so, it is their duty. But I only hope the politics over Lord Ram should end," he said.

Seeking votes on behalf of Lord Ram should end as it is a matter of faith, Gogoi said.

"If people want to practise their faith they will go to the newly-constructed Ram temple. We don't need the BJP to tell us and preach about religion, we have our own gods, own temples, own monasteries, we practise faith much better than the BJP practices," he said.

The BJP practises "fake nationalism" and has "fake love" for religion, especially for the Hindu religion, Gogoi said.

In a rare occasion, Modi spoke in the Lok Sabha as soon as the House convened at 11 am, telling members he wants to share information on a "very important and historical subject for the country."