The Hindu : `Court must decide Babri Masjid issue'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

National

National

`Court must decide Babri Masjid issue'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI. FEB. 18. The Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) has urged the Central Government to allow the judiciary to adjudicate on the Babri Masjid dispute and give up its attempts to "stage manage" a settlement by offering to construct a Jama Masjid at an alternative site in Ayodhya.In a statement issued this afternoon, the BMMCC convener, Syed Shabuddin, said "the Government should respect the rule of law and let the judicial process run its course."

He said the BMMCC had taken note of the proposal to work out a deal through the government-sponsored Jama Masjid Trust by offering to build a mosque on the banks of the Sarayu river, which runs through Ayodhya. There is no direct nexus between the Jama Masjid and the Babri Masjid question," he said. He also charged the trust with trying to get the Muslim community to give up its claim on the Babri Masjid by offering to build a Jama Masjid at an alternative site.

The BMMCC made it clear that any agreement reached between the "handpicked representatives" of the two communities, which envisages the surrender by the Muslims of their right in the acquired area, will have to be endorsed by the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. Mr. Shabuddin was of the view that even that may not automatically result in the revision of the map outlined by the Supreme Court in its October judgment. "A managed judgment will not deceive the Judiciary, even if the RSS and the Union Government jointly apply all their strength," he said.

The BMMCC has also warned the Jama Masjid Trust headed by Asghar Abbas Rizvi not to delude itself about where the Muslims stood on the Masjid issue.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National