New Delhi: The realisation of the High Court verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid issue is finally sinking in: The please-all ruling has ended up displeasing almost all.
While the general polity goes about with its normal routine, factions in both Muslim and Hindu organisations are none too happy. Both parties are contemplating knocking at the doors of the Supreme Court with their pleas. Closeted in meetings, they are steadily coming out in the open with their statements.
Quite unlike his approach to the issue in the recent past, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani's comments at the end of the BJP core group meeting were devoid of any provocation or self-appreciation.
"In so far as the judgment upholds the right of the Hindus to construct a temple, it is a significant step forward towards the construction of a grand temple," he said.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad patron Giriraj Kishore said: "The verdict should open a new chapter. The Muslims should be ready to hand over the sites at Mathura and Kashi to Hindus."
Not wanting history to repeat itself, right-minded people in both communities are issuing statements to maintain peace and harmony. In fact, Zafaryab Jilani, the counsel for the Sunni Central Waqf Board went a step further when he said he was never against an amicable settlement but claimed the high court verdict was necessary to give talks a solid foundation.
"While talks may be initiated on the basis of the findings of the high court, we hope that the Supreme Court would reassess the merit of our case," he added.
The statement of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) was restrained in its remarks. It read, "It is a legal battle in which there is still an option for us….We need to understand that we are living in a democratic nation where there is a higher court and then the parliament."
Hindu wave
However, another Muslim group showed its hurt more intensely. Calling the verdict a joke, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, said the verdict was not acceptable to Muslims. Accusing political parties, especially the Congress, he said it had betrayed the Muslims.
There were others who said: "We know that Congress party leader Digvijay Singh propped up the retired officer R.C. Tripathi as the petitioner to delay the high court verdict. The Congress feared that if the verdict was pro-Muslim, there would be a huge Hindu wave against them and they feared the result in the next Lok Sabha elections."
Syed Shahabuddin, head of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, one of the groups in the AIMPLB, also expressed his displeasure, "The judgment is extra-legal based on myths and legends, ‘faith' and superstitions and not on the evidence on record."
Terming the judgment "simply impractical" he added, "We are dissatisfied, shocked and determined to exercise our right to appeal to the Supreme Court with a view to reverse the judicial stand from the mythological to the legal."
Not seeing any scope for negotiations in the present set-up, he said, "The Muslim community is ready to accept the final judicial verdict of the Supreme Court as it is committed to the constitution and the rule of law."
