Mumbai, Dec 4 (IANS): Upping its demand for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday announced a 'Dharma Sabha' in the temple town of Pandharpur on December 24.

The Dharma Sabha (religious convention) is intended to push its ruling NDA ally, Bharatiya Janata Party, to immediately declare the date for the construction of the Ram temple.

"Through the Dharma Sabha, we want to wake up the Narendra Modi government from its Kumbhakaran-like slumber and take up the Ram temple construction immediately," Thackeray told mediapersons.

His remarks came 10 days after his high-profile visit to Ayodhya and after a meeting with the party's district heads at Sena Bhavan this afternoon.

"The issue of construction of the Ram temple is not over. The Modi government is in a Kumbhakaran-like sleep and there is a need to wake it up. The government cannot keep pointing finger at the Supreme Court," Thackeray said, referring to the legal proceedings.

He urged the government to sort out the matter immediately by passing a bill in Parliament, on which he would address the Pandharpur Dharma Sabha.

In the closed door party meeting, Thackeray is understood to have tasked his leaders to keep pushing the Ram temple issue till it is sorted out and took a review of the pre-2019 election preparations.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has already said that following its Dharma Sabha in Ayodhya on November 25 and the upcoming public rally in New Delhi on December 9, it will not hold any more conferences but dedicate itself to efforts for rebuilding the Ram temple.