by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Lucknow : Heavy security has been deployed across Uttar Pradesh, including Faizabad and Ayodhya, on the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the disputed Babri Masjid structure, police said.
Twenty seven additional companies of the provincial armed constabulary (PAC) have been deployed across the state.
Of these, six companies each have been deployed in the state capital and in Faizabad district, specially to keep vigil on the temple town of Ayodhya.
Ayodhya has been divided into four zones and ten sectors and prohibitory orders under section 144 have been clamped. Any form of protests, demonstrations have been completely banned.
While the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been celebrating the 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque as ‘Shaurya Diwas’, some Muslim organisations observe it as a black day.
All fire cracker shops have been asked to shut down and vigil has been stepped up around liquor vends as well.
Orders have also been issued to check roof tops, which in Uttar Pradesh are often used to stockpile stones and bricks to be used during communal clashes.
Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh has asked the district police chiefs to step up vigil and keep a tab on elements who could try to foment trouble.
He also directed officials to clamp prohibitory orders if situation arises. There were intelligence inputs that some mischievous elements and various terrorist outfits might try to disrupt peace on the day.
Police deployed on duty has been asked to carry with them riot gears including helmets, body protectors, tear gas shells, rubber bullet guns for any emergency.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Asaduddin Owaisi
Hyderabad : MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said the Sangh Parivar wants to use Ram temple issue to save Narendra Modi in the 2019 general elections as he has failed on all fronts.
He said the RSS, VHP and BJP should not be allowed to polarize the voters on temple issue and justified the stand taken by Sunni Wakf Board’s lawyer Kapil Sibal in Supreme Court that the hearing of the title suit be deferred till the elections.
Talking to reporters here, he said a leader of VHP has announced that the temple construction will begin in October 2018 while RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has stated that only a temple can come up in Ayodhya.
“These statements are all aimed at influencing and threatening Muslims and raking up the issue before the elections to save Mr Modi, who has failed to provide jobs, check farmers’ suicides and his actions like demonetization and GST have destroyed business in the informal sector. The elections should be held on these real issues,” he said.
“When you don’t allow release of a film in Gujarat on the ground that it will influence the elections, how can you ignore the impact the temple issue may have?” he asked.
The MP also dismissed criticism of Sibal in a section of media and said he was representing Sunni Wakf Board in the apex court and not the Congress.
He reiterated that Sunni Wakf Board need at least six months to present its arguments before the court as a voluminous record of 17,000 documents need to be translated.
Replying to a query, the Hyderabad MP sad Parliament can’t legislate on the temple till the matter is in the Supreme Court.
“We have separation of powers. The judiciary, executive and legislature are independent. If somebody wants to become a dictator, then people will decide,” he said.
Owaisi said the issue of Babri Masjid was not an issue of Muslims but a matter of justice.
“Even after 25 years of the demolition of Babri Masjid, the case against the accused who instigated people through their provocative speeches and which led to the demolition has not been heard,” he said.
He reiterated his support to the suggestion by Justice M.S. Liberhan (retd.), who had headed the commission probing the conspiracy behind the razing of the disputed structure, that the hearing of title suit be deferred till the criminal case was disposed of.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Asaduddin Owaisi
Hyderabad : MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said that the title suit of the Babri Masjid can be decided only on the basis of evidence and not on ‘aastha’ (faith) as the Sangh Parivar is demanding.
Addressing a public meeting here on Sunday, he voiced his apprehension that the Sangh Parivar might vitiate the atmosphere in the country on the issue before the 2019 elections to gain political mileage.
The Member of Parliament condemned the statements by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders that the construction of the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya will begin on October 18, 2018.
Owaisi wondered how they could make such a statement when the title suit was still pending in the Supreme Court.
He said such attempts could repeat the violence and bloodshed witnessed in the country in the 1990s during BJP leader L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra and after the demolition of the Babri mosque. He warned that this could weaken the country.
The public meeting was organised by the Joint Action Committee comprising various Muslim organisations just days ahead of the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the mosque on December 6.
In 1992, on that date, a large number of religious volunteers or “Kar Sevaks” gathered in the temple town and demolished the 16th century structure, leading to widespread rioting and political crisis.
Taking strong exception to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that only a temple could be built in Ayodhya, Owaisi said: “Muslims would not be cowed down by such threats.”
“What is pending in the Supreme Court is title suit, which will be decided purely on evidence and not an aastha,” he said.
Owaisi said Babri Masjid was not the issue of Muslims but an issue linked to secularism. “This is an issue which will decide the course of this country,” he said.
The MP said he supports Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan’s suggestion that the title suit should not be taken up for hearing till the criminal case relating to the demolition of the mosque was disposed off.
Owaisi also quoted former Chief Justice A.M. Ahmedi reportedly saying that had Justice Venkata Challaiah not permitted Kar Seva, it would not have led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
He said even 25 years after the demolition, the contempt of court case had not come up for hearing in the apex court.
The MIM president alleged that the BJP is returning to its real agenda as it has failed to provide jobs to the unemployed and demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax has hit the people and dealt a blow to the economy.
Babri Masjid Action Committee convenor Zafaryab Jeelani said it was not an issue of “aastha” but of the political interests of some communal groups. He recalled that even the FIR registered in 1949 states that idols were stealthily kept in the mosque.
He said some elements tried to spread the falsehood that it was the birthplace of Ramchanderji (Lord Ram) but this has nothing to do with facts.
The speakers called up on Muslims to peacefully observe the shutdown on December 6 to demand reconstruction of the mosque at its original place.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Interviews
Mahant Satyendra Das
By Saurabh Katkurwar,
Ayodhya : Politics over the Babri dispute, including the hate campaign by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has only complicated a possible amicable solution, contends Mahant Satyendra Das of the makeshift Ram Mandir at the disputed site here, saying there was no enmity here between the two communities over the issue.
He said the apex court’s verdict was likely to be in favour of constructing the Ram Mandir at the disputed site — where once stood the 16th century Babri Masjid that was demolished by Hindu fundamentalists in 1992 — as evidence “clearly showed” the existence of a temple at the spot in the past.
Satyendra Das said the court’s decision was expected soon, thus facilitating the construction of the “long-cherished” grand mandir at the birthplace of Lord Ram in a year’s time.
“The court’s decision is expected soon. All things are in place and all evidence has been presented by the Hindu side to prove that the Ram Mandir existed before it was demolished to build the Babri Masjid,” Das told IANS in an interview.
“On other hand, Muslims could not produce any evidence. They have sought time from the court till December for translation of some documents into English. So, the decision is expected early next year,” he said.
Citing good relations among people from both communities, he said they would sit together and try to find a solution in case the court’s decision was not acceptable to both sides. “We will find a solution through mutual understanding and talks, but no political party will be allowed to interfere as they have their political motives,” he said.
Satyendra Das slammed the VHP for spreading hatred by using foul language against Muslims when it started its agitation for the temple.
“The VHP used the language that made Muslims sad, angry and distressed. Slogans were like ‘Hindi Hindu Hindustan, Mullah Bhago Pakistan (Hindi Hindu India, Muslims go to Pakistan) or ‘Jo kahega Babri, usko samjho akhri (Whoever says Babri will meet his end). It only worsened the matter,” he said.
At the same time, he said such campaigns did not have any adverse impact on the communal harmony in the city.
“There was not such feeling of hatred towards Muslims among local Hindus. Politicians from both sides abused each other. However, common people did not harbour any such hatred.
“I have been the priest of the temple for 26 years, even during the period of demolition. Despite the pressure from the government, I declined any kind of personal security. I never felt scared of Muslims. There is no feeling of enmity between the people over Mandir-Masjid issues,” he said.
Also, if they fight, it will have negative repercussions on tourism and business here, he added.
Holding that the Allahabad High Court had erred in its order to divide the disputed land into three parts when no one had asked for this, he said: “It is clear that there will not be any division of land (by the Supreme Court).”
The priest said many Muslims had understood that the Ram Mandir once existed at the disputed site and they now had no problem with the construction of the temple, provided land was given for the masjid.
“Many Muslims understand that the masjid was built by demolishing the Ram Mandir in the past. It is proven now. Muslims have started thinking that it (the dispute) should be left in such circumstances. We have asked them to get land for a masjid anywhere they want. The size of the land is a point of contention,” he said.
Satyendra Das said the opponents of Ram Mandir have become less aggressive after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
However, the saffron party would not play a proactive role in the matter such as bringing legislation for the temple to avoid any blot on its image and damage to its electoral calculations, he asserted.
“If the BJP takes up the issue, it will meet with opposition from other parties. They will be called being against Muslims. So the BJP government will never attempt to bring legislation under any circumstances,” he said.
“So the best way to solve the issue is through the court. It would be more suitable,” Satyendra Das concluded.
(Saurabh Katkurwar can be contacted at saurabh.k@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
New Delhi : India entered into “saffron age” due to Ram Janmbhoomi movement and construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya would begin next year in 2018, VHP leader Surendra Jain said on Saturday
Jain, the VHP’s joint General Secretary, was speaking here at a conference on the subject titled “The Ram Janmbhoomi Movement: A Renaissance” at NDMC convention centre in central Delhi.
“India entered into the saffron age because of Ram Janmbhoomi movement and is headed to become world’s superpower. The participation of 16 crore people during different stages of the movement made it world’s largest movement,” he said.
“This movement became a renaissance and invoking the pride of Hindus and country’s potential. The construction of a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya will begin in 2018.”
Addressing the conference, VHP Spokesperson Vijay Shankar Tiwary said that this renaissance redefined the nationalism and established that India is known as a country of Maharana Pratap and Chatrapati Shivaji and not of Babar, Mahmud of Ghazni and Ghauri.
Gyanendra Bartaria, a Prasar Bharti advisor, said that Hinduism is nationalism.
—IANS
