BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has been a prominent champion of the demand to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya. In recent months, the cause has been a key theme in Swamy's public utterances and social media posts, often ruffling feathers. Early on Saturday morning, Swamy claimed the VHP has “got the full prefabricated [Ram] temple ready and waiting”.
Swamy tweeted, “Ram Temple construction can begin any day since there is no legal bar for the Govt to hand over the land to the Hindus to build it. VHP has got the full pre-fabricated temple ready and waiting.”
Ram Temple construction can begin any day since there is no legal bar for the Govt to hand over the land to the Hindus to build it. VHP has got the full pre-fabricated temple ready and waiting.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) January 4, 2019
Fabrication of parts for the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya had started even before the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya has been a key hub for such fabrication work, which is being organised by groups such as the VHP and the Ram Janmabhomi Nyas, one of the parties to the ongoing Ayodhya title dispute. In November last year, it was reported that nearly 50 per cent of the carving work for the Ram temple had been finished at Karsevakpuram.
In December 2017, Swamy had declared that the Diwali of 2018 would be celebrated in the “newly constructed Ram temple”. “Ram temple will be prepared by October [2018] because everything is ready and all the materials for construction is pre-fabricated. It is just a matter of attaching it like the Swami Narayan Mandir," claimed Swamy.
Swamy's latest tweet on a “full prefabricated” Ram temple keeps with the BJP leader's recent practice of lobbying the Narendra Modi government to be proactive on the Ayodhya issue. On Christmas Eve, Swamy had suggested that Modi consider the “solution” of then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, who in 1993 acquired 60.70 acres of land around the disputed site in Ayodhya with the intention of building a Ram temple and a mosque.
However, Modi has yet to publicly respond to demands from Swamy and other Hindu rightwing groups. In an interview with ANI, Modi declared any ordinance by his government for a Ram temple would come after the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on the Ayodhya dispute.
