Lucknow: UP Governor Ram Naik has created another controversy, in the middle of ongoing row over religious conversions, by saying that Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya as "it is the wish of Indian citizens."
"The Ram Temple should be built as soon as possible, this is what the people of this country want and their wishes should be fulfilled," Naik said at an event at Awadh University in Faizabad near Ayodhya.
Reacting to that statement, Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Derek O'Brien said, "The governor of Uttar Pradesh has said every Indian wants a Ram Mandir. Do you expect Parliament to run with a statement like that from a Governor?" Naik has been accused of making political statements earlier too.
Last month, on a visit to Ayodhya for an event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he had reportedly said that the temple-mosque row could be resolved within five years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working out a plan.
"Prime Minister is preparing a plan to work out a peaceful solution to the Ayodhya dispute. It will be solved once and for all within the next five years," the Governor said.
Naik is a former BJP parliamentarian and union minister. He was appointed governor to Uttar Pradesh in July as part of a series of switches in top posts after the BJP came to power.
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