Ayodhya verdict deferment: Congress welcomes court decision, others cry foul

While Congress welcomed the Supreme Court (SC) decision to defer the Allahabad high court’s verdict on Ayodhya title suits, other parties and analysts in the temple town and its satellite city Faizabad suspected foul play.

They said Congress would benefit the most from the deferment and pointed out that Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, on whose plea SC took the decision, was a nephew of the late Sripati Mishra, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and a high-profile leader of the party.
Tripathi, a retired Indian Air Force officer, is son of Mishra’s sister, who married Parashuram Tripathi.

A senior Faizabad-based political analyst who has been studying the Ayodhya controversy for years said, “If the verdict would have gone in favour Babri Masjid Action Committee, BJP would have got an opportunity to resurrect Hindutva, which would have dented Congress’ prospects in Uttar Pradesh. At the same time, by attempting an out-of-court settlement, Congress might try to project itself as a minority sympathiser tying to protect Muslims from a Hindu backlash,” he said.

Ayodhya-based senior Samajwadi Party leader and former local MLA Daya Shankar Pandey said Congress and BJP were clandestine partners in the “Ayodhya conspiracy”.

“BJP is at least open in its communal agenda. But Congress in Uttar Pradesh is green from outside and saffron from inside. The pro-temple lobby in Congress is quite strong in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

Hashim Ansari, the 90-year-old lone surviving plaintiff in the case, also lambasted Congress for its “double standards” on the Ayodhya matter.