Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Monday that not a “single stone” bearing the name of Mughal emperor Babur can be installed at the disputed site in Ayodhya any more, PTI reported. He said it was up to the Supreme Court to decide when it gives a verdict, but insisted that a grand temple for Ram will be built in Ayodhya.

“I have clearly said time and again on the issue of construction of a temple in Ayodhya that whenever there is a verdict on Ayodhya, it is the prerogative of the Supreme Court,” Maurya told PTI. “But a grand temple for Ram Lalla will be built. Now, it is simply impossible to install even a single stone bearing the name of Babur there.”

On October 29, the Supreme Court decided to adjourn the hearing on the Ayodhya land dispute case to January 2019.

Maurya said that neither the government nor the petitioner can do anything about a matter pending before the Supreme Court. However, he added that the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya should not be linked with the proposal to erect a statue of the deity in the city.

Ayodhya Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay had said last week that Chief Minister Adityanath is likely to make an announcement about the statue on Diwali.

“We feel Ayodhya should be developed, and every devotee of Lord Ram also feels the same,” Maurya said. “In the past 15 years, there has been no development of Ayodhya. After our government was formed, the development of Ayodhya started. Ayodhya will be developed keeping in mind the devotion and faith which Ayodhya Naath [Lord Ram] commands.”

Asked about Bharatiya Janata Party MP Rakesh Sinha’s tweets about introducing a private member’s bill in Parliament for the construction of the Ram temple, Maurya said any legislator can bring such a bill.

CPI(M) accuses BJP of trying to subvert judicial process

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) accused the BJP of attempting to “subvert” the judicial process by raising the Ram temple matter. The CPI(M), in a statement, said that while the BJP has officially said that it will abide by the top court’s judgement, it has now done a “volte face” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

“Led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, strident demands are being raised for the enactment of a new law for temple construction,” the CPI(M) Politburo said. “This is tantamount to subversion of the judicial process. This is unconstitutional, hence, illegal.”

The CPI(M) said that the BJP aims to further sharpen communal polarisation in India by whipping up communal passions about the Ayodhya matter. “The effort to consolidate the Hindutva communal vote bank in the run-up to the elections, apart from seeking to divert people’s attention away from the all-round failure of the Modi government, poses grave dangers to our country’s unity and integrity,” the party said.