The Ram temple demand has intensified months ahead of the national election
A BJP lawmaker from Karnataka has said he will move a Private Members' Bill during the winter session of parliament to facilitate the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, becoming the second legislator of the ruling party to make a similar claim this month.
Prahlad Joshi, who represents Dharwad in the Lok Sabha, said he had given an assurance to sadhus at a gathering organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Hubballi in Karnataka on Sunday.
Later, Delhi BJP president and lawmaker Manoj Tiwari after meeting of VHP leaders in the capital said "if required" he will be the first person to bring a Private Members' Bill in the parliament for the construction of a Ram temple.
The winter session, the last full sitting of parliament before the 2019 national election, will take place from December 11 to January 8.
Earlier, BJP Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha had said he would move a Private Members' Bill for the early construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and had questioned how many opposition parties would support his move.
The Private Members' Bills, which are introduced by members individually and not by the government, are rarely passed in Parliament and are often used to make a point.
The Ram temple demand has intensified months ahead of the national election, spurred by the Supreme Court rejecting an early hearing of petitions in the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid title dispute case early this month.
The ruling BJP is facing calls from a section of its leaders, right-wing groups, and ally Shiv Sena for an ordinance, or executive order, to facilitate the building of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, after the top court posted the case to January.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S K Kaul said it had already listed the petitions for January, rejecting the Uttar Pradesh government's argument that it was a 100-year-old dispute that should be taken up for urgent hearing.
Shortly after the top court ruling Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called for an early resolution to the Ayodhya dispute and said "justice delayed is justice denied."