Lucknow: Congress on Tuesday urged the President to immediately remove Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik from his post for making statements which are against the dignity of the position he is holding.
"A Governor is not supposed to support any political ideology and issue statements in their favour. However, UP Governor has recently given a number of statements which showed that his role is not unbiased on controversial issues," Chairman UP Congress communication cell Satyadeo Tripathi said.
"We have demanded from the President to immediately remove Naik from his post. We have made his demand through media and will also write in this regard to President", he added.
Ram Naik on December 11 had said that a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya at the site of Babri Masjid as per the "wishes of Indian citizens".
"Ram Mandir should be built as soon as possible. That is the wish of the Indian citizens and the wish should be fulfilled," he had said at a convocation programme of Awadh University at Faizabad, where he was the chief guest.
Last month, on a visit to Ayodhya to take part in an event organised by a VHP leader, Naik had said that the vexed issue would be resolved within five years as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working out a plan to sort it out peacefully.
"(The) Prime Minister is preparing a plan to work out a peaceful solution to the Ayodhya dispute and it would be solved once and for all within the next five years," Naik had said.
A former BJP MP, Naik was named the UP governor in July this year after the NDA government came to power at the Centre. In Aligarh also, Millat Bedari Muhim Committee, a Muslim social outfit, also made the similar demand for removal of the Govenor. In a letter to the President Pranab Mukherji, MBMC has said that the statement by the Governor violates the spirit of the country's Constitution.
The letter by the Secretary of the MBMC Jasim Mohammad said, "By demanding speedy construction of Ram temple at the site of original Babri Mosque the Governor has also indirectly undermined the sanctity of the legal system because this dispute is presently being examined by the country's Supreme Court". He said Governor's utterances could have an adverse impact on the law and order situation in the state.
