People's wish for Ram Mandir should be fulfilled soon: Uttar Pradesh Governor

Ayodhya: Even as a controversy rages over alleged reconversions, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Thursday sparked a fresh row when he said that a Ram temple should be built here 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 said here at the 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.

Meanwhile, reacting to the remarks by Naik, the oldest litigant in the Babri Masjid case, Hashim Ansari, said, "I have stated earlier that we are ready to come to the negotiation table but before we start talks, the Union government must ensure that the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case must be punished."

He said the trial against them has been lingering for the last 22 years and not a single person has been punished.