Yogi Adityanath urged the seers to have faith in the democratic norms of the country. (File)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urged Hindu seers to show patience on the Ram Temple issue and follow democratic systems, even as Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas member Ram Vilas Vedanti said that its construction would start before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with or without court orders.
Mr Vedanti, a former BJP MP, also said Mughal emperor Babur did not come with any court orders to destroy the temple and the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 was not done as per any court directive.
Addressing a "sant sammelan" (seers' meet) in Ayodhya, Mr Adityanath said, "We live in the biggest democracy of the world and in this system, the judiciary, the executive and the legislature have their own roles. We have to keep those norms in mind.
Maryada Purushottam Ram is the master of this universe. When his benevolence will be there, the temple in Ayodhya will be built. There is no doubt in this...then why is there doubt among the seers? You have been patient till now. I feel you will have to exercise patience for some more time. It is optimism that the entire world rests on," he said.
Stating that Lord Ram symbolised "maryada" (dignity) and the seers were his representatives in the society, he said all problems needed to be resolved while staying within the ambit of that dignity.
Yogi Aditynath's remarks came after Mr Vedanti said that just as an idol of Ram Lalla had appeared suddenly one day at the site, the
temple's construction will also start.
"The construction will take time but one thing is sure that it will start before the 2019 elections," he said.
"If the court orders come before the elections it is very good, but if it does not happen even then a grand Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya", he added.
"When Babur had come in 1528, he had not come with any court orders to demolish it...when Ram Lalla appeared in 1949, he did not appear as per any court orders," he said, adding that on December 6, 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished, it was also not done as per any such directives.
Reacting to Mr Vedanti's remarks, Iqbal Ansari, the son of Hashim Ansari, the main litigant in the case, said the matter was pending with the Supreme Court and whatever it decided would be acceptable to them.
In a veiled attack on the Congress, Yogi Adityanath said, "On one hand, a senior leader had submitted in the Supreme Court that the hearing in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue should be held after the 2019 Lok Sabha election, while on the other hand, some Congress leaders are saying the BJP is doing nothing on the Ram Temple issue."
"Is it not the case that when the issue is heading towards a solution, these people are hatching other conspiracies," he asked.
Not taking any names, Mr Adityanath said, "I feel amazed when those people talk about Ramjanmabhoomi, who had fired upon Rambhakts (devotees of Lord Ram) in Ayodhya. I feel nice that Lord Ram has been able to put a word in their mouth about his place of birth. In a way, this is our victory."
He also said now those people were talking about democracy, who had virtually attempted to strangulate it in 1975.
"Those who caused maximum damage to the country's communal amity through their appeasement policies are talking about it. We should not forget that those who are (now) talking about social justice, had made efforts to weaken the Hindu society," he said.
On Ayodhya, Mr Adityanath said, "Ayodhya has been ignored for years. We had forgotten our pilgrimage place. There was no effort to keep the place clean and it did not even have the basic facilities.
"No effort was made to give it a global recognition. We had organised a grand celebration to give it a global recognition and also made the basic facilities available here."
Stating that in the upcoming "Deepotsav" programme in Ayodhya, the head of state of South Korea will be invited, he said, "Almost 2,000 years ago, Ayodhya's princess had married the prince of South Korea and since then, there is an emotional relationship between the two places."
Mr Adityanath also blamed the previous governments at the Centre for not doing enough to get a global recognition for the "Kumbh Mela".
"In the past, efforts were made to present a distorted picture of the Kumbh. But thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has got an international recognition. All the seers should bless him," he said.