New Delhi: Ahead of the upcoming general elections, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said that the Ram Mandir agenda will be worked upon within the democratic limits.

Addressing a gathering of seers in Ayodhya, Adityanath urged them to have some patience on the Ram Temple issue. He said that the government was bounded by democratic ethos and that the saints will have to show a bit more patience on the issue.

He said, “We live in the world’s largest democracy. In this set up the legislature, executive and the judiciary have their roles to play. We need to keep in mind those norms too and follow democratic systems."

"Maryada Purushottam Ram is the master of this universe. When his benevolence will be there, the temple in Ayodhya will be built. There is no doubt in this...then why is there doubt among the seers? You have been patient till now. I feel you will have to exercise patience for some more time. It is optimism that the entire world rests on," he said.

Yogi’s remark came after those of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas member Ram Vilas Vedanti who stressed at starting construction before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with or without orders of the court.

Vedanti, a former BJP MP, also said Mughal emperor Babur did not come with any court orders to destroy the temple and the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 was not done as per any court directive.

"The construction will take time but one thing is sure that it will start before the 2019 elections," Vedanti said.

"If the court orders come before the elections it is very good, but if it does not happen even then a grand Ram temple will be constructed in Ayodhya", he said.

"When Babur had come in 1528, he had not come with any court orders to demolish it...when Ram Lalla appeared in 1949, he did not appear as per any court orders," he said, adding that on December 6, 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished, it was also not done as per any such directives.

Reacting to Vedanti's remarks, Iqbal Ansari, the son of Hashim Ansari, the main litigant in the case, said the matter was pending with the Supreme Court and whatever it decided would be acceptable to them.

Avoiding names, Adityanath launched a covert attack on Congress where he said that when the issue is heading towards a solution, some people are hatching other conspiracies. He said: “At one hand a senior leader submits in the court that the hearing on the issue be held after 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while on the other, some are saying BJP is doing nothing on theRam Temple issue.”

Firing a salvo at the Congress party on the eve of the 43rd anniversary of Emergency, he said that now those people were talking about democracy, who had virtually attempted to strangulate it in 1975.

(With inputs from PTI)