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Legal Issues Relating To Ayodhya Land To Be Examined
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| Fanatic Hindus have been calling for the building of a Ram Temple on the ruins of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya |
From our India correspondent
New Delhi, Jan. 29 (IslamOnline) - The Indian law ministry began Monday examining the legal and constitutional issues pertaining to the land around the so-called "disputed structure", meaning the Babri Masjid, at Ayodhya. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu militant organization, is pressurizing the government to hand over this land so that Hindu extremists may start the construction of the proposed grand "Ram Temple". They plan to take over the actual site of the martyred mosque later as part of a settlement with the government or after a favorable verdict is issued by the special bench of Allahabad High Court which is currently looking into the case.
The most sensitive issue facing the government was whether the non-disputed land around the Babri Masjid site could be released to its previous owners, PTI reported, quoting sources in the Ministry of Law.
Though the Babri Masjid itself stood only on 2.77 acres, the Narasimha Rao government had acquired more than 67 acres of land contiguous to the Babri Mosque structure in 1993. The title of this contiguous land belonged to the Ram Janma Bhoomi Nyas (Trust) and Hindu holy men residing around the martyred mosque.
The sources said that while on the one hand it would be perfectly legal to say the undisputed land should be returned to the rightful owners, its implications were "worrisome" if one takes into account the other side's view, reported PTI.
Muslims and other secular forces opposed to the VHP's plans are apprehensive that if the undisputed land was released, the VHP would construct a temple around the disputed area making the occupation of the land on which the Babri Mosque stood until December 6, 1992, a fait accompli.
Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is under pressure these days to release the lands acquired by the Narasimha Rao government other than the Babri Masjid site. The PM decided Sunday to examine the legal and constitutional aspects of handing over the undisputed plots of land around the disputed site.
After a three-hour meeting with a delegation of VHP leaders, Prime Minister Vajpayee decided that the Union Law Minister should examine how to get the related court cases expedited as well as the legal and constitutional aspects of handing over the undisputed plots of land to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, PTI reported.
On the other hand, the Ayodhya temple issue is now fast becoming a poll issue, despite earlier claims by the ruling BJP that it will not raise the Temple issue as an election plank. Elections will be held in mid-February in a number of Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, whose results will be crucial for the ruling party’s immediate survival. BJP leaders were in the forefront of the movement that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. Home Minister Advani has conceded that the Ram Temple issue helped his party garner Hindu votes.
However, the party now claims that the Ram Temple "was not a political issue but one of cultural nationalism", while its sister organizations, like the VHP, do all the slogan mongering – a usual sight whenever elections approach.
The opposition Congress Party brushed aside the BJP attempt to dissociate from the campaign for the Ram Temple, saying the party, along with the VHP and RSS, was an "indivisible" unit of one organization. Accusing the Sangh of reviving the temple issue at a critical juncture just before the UP elections, Congress spokesman, Jaipal Reddy, said they had done so time and again and had been rejected by the people. "We are again witnessing the pathetic and shameful spectacle of the Sangh Parivar reviving the temple issue...whenever it is election time, it is temple time for the Sangh Parivar," he said.
The VHP has set a March 12 deadline for the government to resolve the Ayodhya imbroglio before it begins reconstruction of the temple. It has refused to back down even in the face of the tense situation after the December 13 terror attack on the Indian parliament.
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