Won't allow parliament to function if govt doesn't bring bill on Ram temple: Shiv Sena MP

BJP's ally the Shiv Sena Monday said it would not allow Parliament to function during the winter session, starting Tuesday, if the government does not bring a bill for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Shiv Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire said that he made these remarks at the all-party meeting called by the government before the commencement of the winter session.

The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The Shiv Sena has been demanding that the government brings a bill in Parliament for construction of Ram temple. If the government does not do so in the winter session, starting tomorrow, our party would not allow Parliament to function," Khare said after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar skirted the questions on whether the government would bring a bill for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying that was not the agenda of the all-party meet.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, during his visit to Ayodhya last month, had said the BJP government at the Centre "may not last" if the temple was not built in Ayodhya and had demanded that an ordinance be brought for the purpose.

Thackeray had said the BJP manifesto for the 2014 general elections stated that possible solutions to the Ram temple issue would be searched while remaining within the ambit of the constitution.