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Mumbai: Unfazed by the Special Court in Rae Bareli framing charges against its leaders in Babri Masjid demolition case, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on September 20, said it was proud to be associated with the Ram temple movement and appealed Muslims to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya to Hindus to bring about unity between the two communities.

"The BJP is proud to be associated with the Ram temple movement and we appeal Muslims to hand over the disputed site to Hindus to resolve the vexed issue in the wake of the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) report," BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters at the airport in Mumbai on way to Solapur to campaign for the September 26 Lok Sabha by-polls.

The Ram Janmabhoomi issue had political overtones and BJP would face it legally as well as politically, he said.

Referring to the Rae Bareli court's order to frame charges against BJP leaders, Naidu said, "Let the law take its own course", but added, "We shall fight the legal battle and will certainly not give up."

The BJP president said it was the erstwhile Congress government which had filed the case but BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had decided to fight the legal battle rather than choosing to withdraw the chargesheet.

Referring to the resignation tendered by Union Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi in response to the court deciding to frame charges against him in the Babri Masjid demolition case, Naidu said, "We shall convince him to withdraw."

Naidu also ruled out any impact of the Rae Bareli court's decision to frame charges against seven BJP leaders on the survival of the NDA government.

PTI