 "Uttarakhand CM wants Ram temple, says law can settle Ayodhya dispute")
Making a strong pitch for a Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said Sunday the whole world looks upon the holy city as the birthplace of lord Ram.
Addressing a press conference here, Rawat said the dispute with regard to the temple in Ayodhya is only over land which the government can resolve by framing a law in accordance with the Constitution.
"When everyone is in agreement (over a Ram temple in Ayodhya) how can I disagree," the chief minister said in reply to a question on saints and seers gathering in Ayodhya.
Noting that it was only natural for saints to congregate in Ayodhya, Rawat said, "If saints don't assemble in Ayodhya, where would they, in Kaaba?"
"A Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya only as the whole world looks upon it as the birthplace of lord Ram," Rawat said.
On a question regarding former chief minister Harish Rawat objecting to the state cabinet's decision to name Dehradun's Jollygrant airport after late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the chief minister said he was not aware of any other proposed name for the facility during tenure of the Congress.
Rawat said the state cabinet has cleared a proposal to name the airport after the former prime minister and forwarded it to the Centre for its approval.
Harish Rawat has objected to the cabinet nod for naming the airport after Vajpayee contending that he had proposed to christen it after Adi Guru Shankaracharya during his chief ministership.