Shankaracharya Swaroopanand wants govt to fulfil promise of constructing Ram temple at Ayodhya

Shankaracharya Swaroopanand on Sunday said the government should fulfil its promise of constructing a Ram temple at Ayodhya. "The government should fulfil its promise that hitherto could not be translated into reality," he told reporters in Vrindavan.

"Since the matter is pending before the apex court, we expect the decision to come shortly and construction of temple should start," Swaroopanand said. He said Mughal emperor Babar had never visited Ayodhya and there was never a mosque at the site of Lord Ram.

Targeting the BJP, Swaroopanand said, "There is lot of difference between Ram of the BJP and Ram of seers." "The Ram of BJP is an ideal human being, while we worship our Ram," he added.

Swaroopanand said the BJP "misled" the people on nationalism while issues like unemployment and development were "sidelined" in the Lok Sabha elections. "The government should focus on issues like ban on bovine export, withdrawal of Article 370 from Kashmir, making holy rivers pollution free, etc.," he said.

(With inputs from agencies.)