LUCKNOW: Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Shivpal Yadav created a flutter on Thursday by backing a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, in a clear departure from his party line. “If a Ram temple is not built in Ayodhya, then where else?” asked Shivpal.
The SP believes that any decision on whether a temple should be built or where it should be built should be taken by the Supreme Court. Marginalised in his own party amid the growing bonhomie between SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and son Akhilesh, Shivpal’s statement—made on the sidelines of an event in Kanpur —is being seen as a step towards a different political course that he may reveal in days to come.
Shivpal, however, took a swipe at the BJP saying it remembered Lord Ram and the temple issue only in election season. “I never forget Lord Ram. Both temple and mosque should be constructed amicably with mutual understanding between the two communities,” he said.
In case of no consensus, the parties concerned would have to abide by the Supreme Court order, he added.