Advani wants temple built in Ayodhya

Somnath (Gujarat): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday renewed its demand for construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

Former BJP president Lal Krishna Advani said he still hoped that the Ram Temple would be built at the site.

"Ram temple should be constructed at lord's birthplace in Ayodhya. We still hope that it would be build. Someone asked me what did I ask from the Almighty at Somnath and I replied that God should help us in the construction of the temple at that very site," Advani said after he visited the Somnath temple in Gujarat.

Ayodhya is the centre of debate concerning the Ram Janmabhoomi temple and the Babri Mosque. The religious dispute over Ayodhya has been a source of tension between the Hindus and Muslim in India for nearly two decades.

Hindus believe that the site in Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram and a temple existed there before Islamic invaders demolished it and built the Babri mosque in its place.

The mosque was demolished in 1992. The dispute over the site has dragged on for years in the courts, which have banned any construction on the land until it settles the issue. Despite the ban, a small makeshift Hindu temple stands there.

The destruction prompted one of worst bouts of nationwide religious riots, which left nearly 2,000 people dead. Several BJP leaders are still facing legal proceedings over the destruction of the mosque.