SHAHJAHANPUR: Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand today accused the Congress of deliberately delaying the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The former minister of state for home said if the Congress wanted, it could have built a Ram temple in Ayodhya, and recalled Sardar Vallabhbhaai Patel's contribution in restoring the Somnath temple in Gujarat.
"Somnath temple was demolished, and a mosque was built in its place. After then Union home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel intervened, the temple was rebuilt and restored. People had then hoped that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya, but it never happened," he said.
Chinmayanand said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had sought a year's time to resolve the Ayodhya dispute, but did not take any concrete step.
He expressed hope that the Supreme Court's judgement will be in favour of the temple and a grand Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya.
A day before the 25th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid, the Supreme Court today fixed February 8 for further hearing in the long-standing Ayodhya dispute.