NEW DELHI, March 13: A rightwing Hindu campaign to build a temple at the site of a destroyed mosque was handed a stinging blow by India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday which barred any group from performing prayers on a controversial piece of land, but the verdict appeared to have also isolated Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee both within his Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
In a major setback to Vajpayee’s government and to the Hindu revivalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad, street arm of the BJP, the Supreme Court rejected plans for a bhoomi pujan near the disputed site at Ayodhya on March 15 and ordered that no puja or religious activity will be allowed at the land acquired by the government after the mosque was razed in December 1992.
“No part of the acquired land shall be handed over to anyone by the Central Government. The same shall be retained and no part will be allowed to be used for any other purpose till further orders,” said the three-judge bench of the court after a submission by Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee lasting for nearly 90 minutes.
Financial markets were relieved, after dipping in a knee-jerk reaction to a Supreme Court ruling against the prayer ceremony by the VHP in Ayodhya. Immediately after the ruling, shares dropped from intra-day highs before recouping most of the lost ground while the rupee was steady. Bonds, too, recovered from an initial fall. The benchmark Bombay exchange index was up 1.36 per cent at 3,583.93 points, having earlier traded between 3,531.02 and 3,601.82.
Opposition groups hailed the order as a reflection of a judicial system that still works for the constitution when rule of law is most needed by the country wracked by communal tensions.
The apex court’s order on maintaining the status quo came significantly after Sorabjee, representing the Vajpayee government, put up a strong case for permitting a symbolic prayer by 60 to 70 Hindu seers for three hours at a site 300 metres away from the disputed spot in the acquired land.
PROTEST: The BJP’s NDA allies joined the opposition in protesting the government’s role in pleading for prayers by VHP’s Hindu seers. “We have strongly conveyed to the Prime Minister our objection to the way the Ayodhya issue was handled. Although the allies have decided not to withdraw support to the government as of now, there will be a definite tightening of stand,” said the leader of an NDA party after a meeting with his other colleagues.
Among those who met Vajpayee were: Bengal’s Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, The Telegu Desam Party leader Yerran Naidu, Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh, Lok Janshakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan, and leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam of Tamil Nadu and the Janata Dal (United).
The allies are upset because the government on the Ayodhya issue did not consult them. Mamata Banerjee said: “The NDA allies were not taken into confidence on the Ayodhya issue ... the court order is a matter of great relief.”
They also said Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee’s approach to the Supreme Court that a symbolic bhoomi pujan could be allowed in Ayodhya did not go down well with the allies. TDP leader Yerran Naidu said: “The government has acted as if it is a BJP and not a NDA government.”
What is critical is that two of the leaders who met the prime minister, Ajit Singh and Ram Vilas Paswan, are members of the central cabinet while Mamata Banerjee has been a former railway minister. TDP, of course, has always provided outside support to the government.
Law Minister Arun Jaitley declared that the government would abide by the Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the bhoomi puja and that no violation would be allowed on March 15.
LOK SABHA: Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after enraged opposition members stormed the well of the house shouting anti-government slogans. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha, which was adjourned in the post-lunch session.
“The Centre’s stand is that a reading of the 1994 judgment and the previous order of the Supreme Court, temporary use for a limited duration of the undisputed adjacent land is not prohibited notwithstanding pendency of the title suits before the Allahabad High Court,” Sorabji had argued.
He had made this submission when he detailed the steps being taken by the government to enforce law and order. Sorabjee had suggested that the VHP’s dreaded kar sevaks would merely be witnessing the prayers from a certain distance on the undisputed land and the total number would not be allowed to exceed 1,000.
SECURITY STEPS: Follow-ing the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has virtually sealed off the most sensitive parts of the Ayodhya. Anti-riot vehicles and barricades have also been positioned outside the VHP’s karyashala, workshop, where the sacred bricks or shilas are being carved.
The strength of para-military forces has also been beefed up in the entire city and patrolling intensified, police sources said. Ayodhya has been divided into three zones — red, yellow and green — depending on the sensitivity. While security arrangements have already been tightened in the red zone, deployment is also being made in the other two zones.
Refusing to take any chances in view of the experience of 1990 and 1992, authorities have deployed nearly 10,000 security forces, including paramilitary troopers. Army troops are on standby.
DECISION HAILED: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayala-lithaa welcomed the Supreme Court verdict, stating that status quo should be maintained in Ayodhya. Everyone should abide by the court verdict in the interest of the nation, she said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya hailed the Supreme Court order to maintain status quo in Ayodhya and not to allow any prayer on the acquired land. “We expected this. All democratic minded and secular people of the country will be pleased with the order,” Bhattacharya said when he was told about the apex court order as he emerged from his chamber at the state secretariat Writers’ Building.
Congress Deputy leader Shivraj Patil said either party leaders are allowed to make submissions first followed by a response from Prime Minister Vajpayee or that leaders be allowed to question the issue once the prime minister makes his statement.
VHP: With the Supreme Court refusing to allow any religious activity at the undisputed site in Ayodhya, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has said it will now work towards building consensus on the construction of the Ram temple.
Addressing a press conference in the capital, VHP International General Secretary Praveen Togadia severely criticized the court’s decision, and said the final decision on the issue would be taken in Ayodhya on Thursday.
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