Ayodhya saints on indefinite fast over Ram Mandir, mount pressure on Modi-led NDA govt

LUCKNOW: Mounting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government, a group of sages and saints went on an indefinite fast Monday, October 1, demanding the immediate construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Led by Mahant Paramhans Das of Ayodhya's Tapasvi Chavni temple, several saints from Ayodhya and other parts of the country are participating in the fast. 

The saints also held “Shila Pujan” inside the Tapasvi Chavni. Chief priest of Ram Janmabhoom Acharya Satyendra Das, who conducted the puja, has supported also the fast. 

The Supreme Court Thursday declined to refer to a five-judge constitution bench the issue of reconsideration of the observations in its 1994 judgment that a mosque was not integral to Islam which had arisen during the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute.

Following the judgement, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Alok Kumar said that all options to pursue the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, including campaign, are open before the outfit.

"A meeting of VHP's high-powered committee of seers has been called on October 5, to discuss the future course of action," he said.

The facts will be placed before them and "we will seek their guidance in this matter", Kumar said. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das of Ayodhya, acting chief of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas heads the committee.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in the meantime, called for an early resolution of the Ayodhya issue, saying those who did not want the matter to be settled were deliberately trying to create obstacles.

While declining to refer to a larger bench its 1994 verdict for a review over its "questionable observation", the top court said that that "mosque is not an essential part of the practice of Islam". 

Holding that the earlier observation was made in the limited context of "land acquisition" during the hearing of the Ayodhya case, the top court in a 2-1 verdict made it clear it will not have any bearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute whose outcome will be eagerly awaited ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The hearing in the politically sensitive main Ayodhya title suit will commence on October 29.

With agency inputs