The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday organised a meeting of Hindu seers and decided to scale up the Ram temple movement ahead of the 2019 general election by urging the government to immediately pass a law for the construction of a temple in Ayodhya instead of waiting for the Supreme Court verdict.

After the daylong meeting in the capital, some 50 seers unanimously decided that the government should pass legislation in the winter session of Parliament to pave the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya. The resolution passed at the meeting said the seers could not “indefinitely” wait for a judicial verdict.

Representatives of the Sant Uchhadhikar Committee, whose members participated in the meeting, submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind and pledged to launch a countrywide movement to clear the obstacles in the path of the proposed temple by the end of this year.

“We urged the President to direct the government to pass a law immediately and clear the way for the construction of a Ram temple,” Parmanand Maharaj, a member of the committee, said.

The push for the construction of the temple in the run-up to the elections in three states this year-end and the Lok Sabha polls next year is believed to be a part of a larger strategy of the Sangh parivar, which includes the BJP, to tap the emotive issue for Hindu consolidation.

“The VHP is committed to the rule of law. But the Supreme Court has neglected its duty by delaying a judgment in the Ram temple case,” VHP working president Alok Kumar said, asked about the Ayodhya land dispute that is being heard by the top court.

He said the court had not yet provided a time frame for deciding the case and so the Hindu seers wanted the Centre to enact a law for the construction of a Ram temple.

“We had hoped the Supreme Court… would pass a judgment, but that has not happened,” Kumar said, stressing that the seers could not wait anymore.

The committee has decided to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister and all governors urging them to facilitate the legislation. The next step will be to approach MPs cutting across party lines and ask them to make their stand on the proposed temple clear and push for the law in Parliament. The third step involves a weeklong “jan jagran” (public awakening) in mid-December.

“The Ram Janmabhoomi movement has been a long-drawn one. The finale has, however, arrived. We are sure that by the time the sun sets on 2018, all the obstacles in the path of a grand Ram temple will be cleared,” Kumar said. He said the committee would seek an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asked what the VHP and the seers would do if the government failed to enact a law, Kumar said: “The Dharm Sansad (a religious parliament) will meet during the Allahabad Kumbh on January 31 and February 2 and decide the future course of action”, Kumar said.

The seers called the Modi dispensation a “Ram bhakt” and “desh bhakt” government and hoped it would pass a law for early construction of the temple.

Without naming Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Kumar said some leaders had started asserting their Hindu identity and that they should come out in support of a Ram temple at the earliest.