Yogi visits makeshift Ram temple at Ayodhya

A day after a trial court framed conspiracy charges against LK Advani and other top BJP leaders for their alleged role in the Babri Masjid demolition, Yogi Adityanath offered prayers at the makeshift Ram temple at Ayodhya, his first visit to the town after taking charge as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.

Adityanath’s visit assumes significance amid speculation that he would contest the Assembly by-elections from Ayodhya — the Chief Minister is still an MP from Gorakhpur, and needs to get elected to the State Assembly. He is likely to give up his Lok Sabha seat only after the Presidential elections conclude in mid July.

This sets the stage for both parliamentary and Assembly bypolls in Gorakhpur and Ayodhya, at a time when the BJP’s ideological cousin, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has begun the drum roll for the enactment of a Central law mandating construction of a Ram temple at the Babri mosque-Ramjanmabhoomi site.

A case regarding the disputed site is pending in the Supreme Court and there are only three ways in which the temple can be constructed at the site: following the apex court verdict; by a central law, or by mutual agreement between the parties to the dispute. The VHP believes that only with enactment of a central law can the temple be constructed without any further impediments.

“There are no two ways about it. We have a government in UP and at the Centre. Both Modi ji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and Yogi ji (Yogi Adityanath) are supporters of the national movement for construction of a grand Ram temple on the Ramjanmabhoomi site. The sooner it is done, the better it would be,” VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal told BusinessLine .

Meanwhile, local sadhus in Ayodhya submitted a plea to the Chief Minister that Faizabad — the city and district where the Ramjanmabhoomi is situated — be renamed to Ayodhya. Adityanath, on his part, spent around 30 minutes at the makeshift temple in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid complex. He later offered payers on the banks of the Sarayu.

Adityanath began his visit by offering prayers at the Hanumangarhi Temple in Ayodhya. He was accompanied by Dharam Das, against whom conspiracy charges were framed on Tuesday.

A special CBI court in Lucknow had on Tuesday framed charges against Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister Uma Bharti and nine others in the 1992 Babri mosque demolition case.

The six accused were granted bail by CBI special judge SK Yadav on a personal bond of ₹50,000 each, after rejecting the CBI’s opposition to their bail plea.