Aparna is married to the half-brother of Akhilesh Yadav

Aparna is married to the half-brother of Akhilesh Yadav

Aparna is married to the half-brother of Akhilesh Yadav

Joining the chorus for construction of a Ram temple, Aparna Yadav, daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, said on Wednesday she was in favour of a shrine for Hindus in Ayodhya and had full faith in the judiciary.

Aparna, who contested the 2017 assembly polls as an SP candidate and lost, was backing 'chacha' Shivpal Singh's Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party Lohia (PSPL). "A Ram temple should be built," Aparna said on Wednesday during a visit to the Deva Sharif Dargah in Barabanki. "I have full faith in the process of the respected court," she added.

The Supreme Court had declined an urgent hearing on the Ayodhya land dispute case and said an appropriate bench would decide in January when to hear the politically sensitive case. According to the Ramayan, Ayodhya is the birthplace of Ram and a temple should be built there, Aparna said.

Asked whether she was with the BJP, Aparna said, "I am not with the BJP, but with lord Ram."

Aparna, who is married to Mulayam's son Prateek, said she would be contesting the 2019 elections from the PSPL, but her father-in-law's blessings were with her.

Speaking on the Supreme Court's decision to move the Ayodhya hearing to January, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said the Supreme Court should fast-track the proceedings in the case as "justice delayed can sometimes be called justice denied".

Aparna's statement on Wednesday will arouse curiosity over the political direction of Shivpal's new party. Shivpal has had a long-running rivalry with Akhilesh Yadav, the SP chief and half-brother of Prateek. Critics of Shivpal claim his new party would benefit the BJP by cutting into SP votes.

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