BJP rakes up Ram Temple before elections: Chidambaram

Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday accused the BJP of polarising views on the Ram Temple issue ahead of Lok Sabha polls and said the Ayodhya dispute was “a familiar story”.

“Every five years before elections, BJP tries to polarise views on Ram Mandir. Congress party’s position is that the matter is before the Supreme Court and everyone should wait until SC decides… I don’t think we should jump the gun,” he said.

Chidambaram’s reaction came after Supreme Court directed the listing of the Ayodhya title suit matter in January 2019 before an appropriate bench but declined to specify any dates.

Earlier, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi directed the hearing for the next year on a batch of petitions challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict trifurcating the disputed site in Ayodhya into three parts — for Ram Lalla, Nirmohi Akhara and the original Muslim litigant.