"Will Wait For Top Court Decision": Nitish Kumar's JD(U) On Ram Temple

Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), an ally of the BJP, isn't keen on an ordinance or an executive order on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya and said it will wait for the Supreme Court to decide on the issue.

The Supreme Court will announce a date to begin the hearing next month, but several right-wing groups -- including the RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJP's ideological mentor and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) -- and BJP allies have been demanding an early decision on the Ram temple.

JD(U)'s national general secretary Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said the party's stand is that the issue either be solved by mutual consent between the affected communities or decided by a court of law.

If an ordinance is introduced to facilitate the construction of the temple, our party will not support it, Mr Singh said, reported news agency PTI.

"Since the Samata Party days, we have been in favour of a resolution of the dispute by mutual consent or through a court order. We brook no third alternative," Mr Singh, who is also the party's leader in the Rajya Sabha and close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, told reporters.

When a matter is in court, we should not be in a hurry and give it enough time to take a decision, BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya also said.

"But if people's aspirations keep increasing, the government will have to take a call on it (whether to bring ordinance or not). As of now, the party is not thinking of bringing in an ordinance on construction of temple," Mr Vijayvargiya told PTI.

The JD(U), which was earlier part of the grand alliance with Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress in Bihar, exited the alliance following corruption allegations against Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi and a few other members of the Yadav family.

Nitish Kumar then joined hands with the BJP to form a coalition government in Bihar. The two parties will also contest an equal number of seats of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar next year. But the JD(U) wants its ally to concentrate on development, poverty and farmers issues.

Senior JD(U) leader KC Tyagi attributed the BJP's loss in five states to the party's focus on emotional issues rather than farmers, employment, price rise and corruption.

Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), another BJP ally, has also objected to the BJP's aggressive tone over issues other then development.

"The NDA's agenda is development. If the NDA will persist with issues like Ram temple and Lord Hanuman, people will be confused," LJP MP Chirag Paswan, the son of Ram Vilas Paswan, said.

He added if an ordinance (on Ram temple) is brought, the LJP will think over it and come out with its stand. "As of now, the party is in favour of waiting till the court comes out with its verdict on the issue," Chirag Paswan said.

However, BJP's vociferous ally Shiv Sena has warned the BJP that they would not remain in power if they don't start the temple building process.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who was in Ayodhya last month, has even dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a date when the construction of the Ram temple will begin.