Why link Ram temple with polls?

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lashed out at senior advocate Kapil Sibal's demand to delay Ayodhya case hearing. Modi asked why he (Sibal), a Congress leader, was linking the sensitive matter to the 2019 general election.

Ironically, the Prime Minister's attack on the Congress comes 25 years after the right-wing forces had demolished the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. "Why does he have to link Ram Mandir with elections. Is such thinking proper?" Modi demanded.

Modi's remarks came a day after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, while representing the Sunni Waqf Board, urged the Supreme Court to defer hearing in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit till July 2019 when the next Lok Sabha elections will be over, citing "serious political ramifications".

However, the demand was brushed aside by the apex court as it fixed February 8, 2018 for the final hearing in the case. In a surprising twist, the Sunni Waqf Board too disassociated itself from Sibal's petition to postpone the hearing, asserting that it wanted a resolution in the Ram temple dispute at the earliest and had "nothing to do with his (Sibal's) statement." Lauding the Waqf Board's decision to distance itself from Sibal's remarks, Modi said: "Everyone wants a time bound solution except Congress and their leaders."

"I appeal to the future Congress president, please clear your stand on the issue," Modi said, also adding, "On the one hand, temples are being visited ahead of elections. On the other hand, they are trying to delay hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi case. The Congress has double standards on the issue."

Sibal's plea to the apex court had elicited a strong reaction from the BJP, which accused the Congress of double standards and demanded it to clarify its stance on the matter. The Congress distanced itself from Sibal's statement, saying it does not represent the party's stand.