Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi said on Friday the Ram Temple in Ayodhya must be built by 2025.
“Mandir bane ye humari ichha hai. 2025 tak poora hona chahiye, ye humari ichha hai. Sarkar ko tay karna hai (The temple should be constructed, this is our wish. It should be completed by 2025. The government has to decide),” he told reporters on Friday.
When asked to comment further, Joshi said, “(20)25 ko shuru karne ki baat nahi ki hai, aaj shuru hoga to 5 varsho mein banega (I have not asked to start by 2025. If construction begins now, it will take five years to complete.)”
This is the second time in three days that Joshi raised the Ram Temple issue. Speaking at a gathering in Smabalpur in Odisha on 15 January, the RSS leader had expressed displeasure over the interference of judiciary in religious matters.
“We are not prepared for any delay in the construction of the Sri Ram temple at his birthplace in Ayodhya,” he said.
Read More: Not prepared for any delay in construction of Ram Temple, says senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi
The RSS top brass is hopeful that the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fulfil its promise of building a ‘grand’ temple to Ram Lalla in Ayodhya before the end of its present tenure at the Centre.
The RSS, along with its other Parivar constituents such as VHP, has been spearheading a nationwide movement for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in an interview rejected calls for an ordinance on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya before the judicial process is over, the RSS spoke favourably about the PM’s declaration.
Yet the RSS along with its other Sangh Parivar units appear to be unwilling to give up on their demand for the construction of the temple before the end of the tenure of the present government.
In a statement, RSS Sarkaryvah Dattatreya Hosabale reminded the Modi government about the promise the BJP had made in its election manifesto in 2014.
“Even in the 2014 election manifesto prepared under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, the BJP promised to explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The people of Bharat have reposed complete confidence and gave BJP the full mandate. The people of Bharat expect this government to fulfil the same promise during this tenure,” Hosabale said.
Speaking to ANI on 2 January, the PM had said, “We have said in our party manifesto that a solution would be found to this issue under the ambit of the Constitution.”
Read More: PM Modi rules out ordinance on Ram temple at Ayodhya
The matter related to the land dispute is currently pending disposal before the Supreme Court which on 10 January decided to defer the hearing to 29 January under a new five-judge bench after Justice UU Lalit recused from the case.
Read More: SC to form new bench as Justice Lalit recuses, hear Ayodhya case on 29 Jan