Government plans last-mile push for Ayodhya resolution in Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Centre's top law officers, appearing for the UP government, are likely to make a determined push for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi title suit in the Supreme Court when it takes up the case in January, arguing the dispute has been languishing in the apex court since 2010 while the contending claims date back to events soon after independence.

The forceful stance will reflect the state government's, as also the Modi government's, empathy for the urgency with which Vishwa Hindu Parishad - with the strong backing of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh - has taken up its long-pending demand for a Ram temple in Ayodhya in recent weeks, when it has criticised the SC for delaying a verdict in the case.

So far, the BJP leadership has not committed itself on the VHP-RSS demand for an ordinance or law for construction of the Ram temple, but the anticipated thrust in the SC can well be the last opportunity to get a verdict ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and meet the demands of the Hindu "sant samaj" that has led the demand.

Well-informed sources said the law officers can be expected to press for regular hearings on the grounds that non-resolution of the dispute was unfair to all parties and, in fact, counter-productive to amity between communities.