BJP hails Shia Board proposal on Ayodhya, asks Rahul to clear stand

Rajkot: The BJP on Wednesday termed as “good” the Shia Central Waqf Board’s draft proposal for resolution of the Ayodhya dispute which advocates construction of Ram Mandir on the contested property and asked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to specify party’s stance on the draft.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao told reporters here that the Shia Waqf Board had put forward a good suggestion in its submission to the Supreme Court on Saturday that a Ram temple be built in Ayodhya and a mosque in Lucknow.

“It’s a good suggestion to resolve the issue,” said Rao, who is here to campaign for the BJP candidates for the next month’s assembly elections.

“The BJP is of a clear opinion that a glorious temple of Lord Ram be built in Ayodhya, but does the Congress have to say? We demand that Rahul Gandhi make his party’s stand clear by breaking his silence,” he said.

The Shia Central Waqf Board on Monday issued a draft proposal on the resolution of the Ayodhya dispute, in which it argued for construction of Ram Mandir at the contested property, while writing to the state government for a mosque in Lucknow.

The draft proposal was presented by Waqf Board Chairman Wasim Rizvi and the priest of All India Akhara Council, Narendra Giri, before the media. It was earlier submitted to the Supreme Court on Saturday.

—IANS