Commenting on the Supreme Court ruling on whether or not a mosque is essential to the practice of Islam, the BJP on Thursday expressed hope that the top court’s verdict would eventually pave the way for construction of a Ram temple on the disputed site.
The Congress, in its official response, said the party has always maintained that “every party and the government should follow whatever the top court decides in the Rama Janmabhoomi–Babri Masjid case.”
Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi told The Hindu , “The judgement is another step in a positive direction. Because we want the case settled at the earliest. It is our wish and we are hopeful that the final judgment will be in favour of Ram Janmabhoomi.”
The RSS too welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on Ayodhya, expressing confidence that a “just” verdict will be reached at the earliest. “Today, the Supreme Court has decided to hold hearing on the Shri Rama Janmabhumi case from October 29 by a three-member Bench. We welcome this decision and are confident that a just verdict will be reached over the case at the earliest,” the Sangh said in a statement.
While maintaining that the top court’s verdict should be binding on all, the Congress accused the BJP of doing politics over Lord Rama. “The BJP has used the Rama temple issue to mislead and fool the people of the country. Six months before every election they garner votes in the name Lord Rama and then after acquiring the throne, they send Lord Rama to exile,” Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) did not comment on the ruling. “We have to study the ruling before we can react to it,” CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said. CPI leader D. Raja too maintained that the ruling needed to be studied in detail. “The Apex Court has delivered a divided judgement. One needs to wait and see what is going to be the next step in the judicial process. The main Ayodhya title suit is still to be settled. People should remain calm and not get carried away by provocation from any side,” he said.
