Babri mosque will never be rebuilt; that day will never come: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declared on Tuesday that the Babri mosque will never be rebuilt, a statement likely to spark backlash from opposition parties.

Speaking at a public rally in Barabanki, Yogi praised the Modi government and his own administration for delivering on the BJP's long-standing promise of the Ram Mandir. "Babri mosque will never be rebuilt till eternity, that day will never come," he asserted to cheers from the crowd.

The remarks follow a pledge by former Trinamool Congress legislator Humayun Kabir to construct a Babri mosque replica in West Bengal's Murshidabad. Yogi emphasized that India's Sanatan traditions would endure, dismissing any hopes of resurrecting the structure.

Kabir, suspended by TMC for stoking communal tensions, laid the foundation stone for the replica on December 6, 2025 -- the anniversary of the Babri demolition in Ayodhya.

He later formed the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) and plans to contest around 135 seats in West Bengal's upcoming Assembly elections. The BJP has branded him the ruling party's "B-team."

Yogi's comments could intensify the BJP-TMC showdown ahead of the polls, where the parties already clash over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

The UP Chief Minister's statements follow the landmark Supreme Court verdict of November 9, 2019, which settled the century-old dispute by backing the construction of a Ram temple at the site by a designated trust. The apex court had also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot be provided for the construction of a mosque within Ayodhya.

The dispute dates back to 1885, involving claims that the mosque built by Mughal emperor Babur had replaced an existing temple. After decades of legal battles and the 1949 placement of idols inside the structure, the mosque was eventually demolished by a mob of kar sevaks on December 6, 1992.