Want to build Ram Mandir lawfully; no mosque: VHP

"We want the Supreme Court to start day-to-day hearing in the case from July. We expect its decision would come by end of this year and construction would start next year"

image courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday said it will wait for the Supreme Court's order to build the Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya "lawfully" but expressed its opposition to a mosque next to it. VHP Working President Alok Kumar said he expected the court's order by the end of this year and it would be in favour of the temple. "We want the Supreme Court to start day-to-day hearing in the case from July. We expect its decision would come by end of this year and construction would start next year," Kumar told reporters here. "The issue is about the title of the land. We do not want a mosque in the temple area. If our Muslim brothers want a mosque outside it, we will have no problem." In case, the decision does not come by the end of the year, the VHP would consult saints to decide the next course of action, he added. Kumar also said former VHP President Pravin Togadia's decision to form a new Hindu outfit -- Antar-Rashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) -- would not have any negative impact on his organisation. "It says any organisation set on the basis of ego, ambition or copying anyone does not last long. The VHP operates on collective leadership. So there will not be any big loss to us because of it (AHP)," Kumar said. However, Togadia can come back to the VHP as "the doors are open for him," he said.