Uma Bharti wants 'Somnath-like' solution for Ram temple

Bhopal: Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti today suggested a Somnath-like solution for the Ram Mandir issue in Ayodhya.

"The matter regarding whether Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya or not has already been settled by the court. Now the only dispute left is the title of the land, i.E. Whether it belongs to Ram Janmabhumi Nyas or the Waqf Board," she told reporters here.

"It would be better if this matter is decided out of court, i.E. On the lines of Somnath temple (in Gujarat). Otherwise, we will take a call after the court's verdict on the issue," said Bharti, who was one of the prominent leaders of the movement for construction of Ram Mandir in the place of Babri Masjid in the 1990s in Uttar Pradesh.

The senior BJP leader did not elaborate any further.

After the independence, a grand new temple was built at Somnath in the place of the ruins of the earlier one, which is said to have been destroyed by invaders many times in the distant past.

"It is the biggest issue, lingering on for over 400 years and nearly 3.60 lakh people have died just over the issue that it was Lord Ram's birth place. The three-judge bench has settled it that the area under the central dome (of Babri mosque) belongs to Ram Lalla and there is no dispute about it," the Union Minister added.