BJP calls for building grand Ram temple, Mulayam Singh Yadav openly talks about his disappointment with the verdict
Though the country’s response to the Ayodhya verdict has been respectful and dignified, to use home minister P Chidambaram’s words, political players seem to be back at the game they are best at — trying to create trouble where there is none.
While Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav is openly discussing his “disappointment”, obviously in the hope of luring some Muslim votes, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is using every opportunity possible to shrug off all responsibility on the law and order front, repeating ad infinitum, “The Centre will be responsible if anything goes wrong.” The BJP has already started saying how the verdict has “paved the way for the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya” and the Congress is baying for Mayawati’s blood.
Mulayam startled many people at a press conference on Friday as he virtually lambasted the special three-judge bench which delivered the verdict in the case. “I am disappointed to see that matters of faith have been given precedence over law and evidence in a legal matter,” he said.
Mulayam did not stop at that. “The Muslims are feeling cheated… there is a feeling of despair throughout the community,” he said. The remarks were downright inflammatory, coming as they did right before the Friday namaaz.
The SP president said that the verdict splitting the disputed site would create further complications. “This is not a good omen for the country, the constitution and even the judiciary,” he remarked in a written statement released to the media.
Soon afterwards, and perhaps equally predictably, the saffron brigade latched on to the communal bandwagon. “Mulayam’s remarks are totally irresponsible,” fumed state BJP chief Surya Pratap Shahi. “It does not become a senior leader like him to speak this sort of language at a time when we need to keep peace and calm,” he said.
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member and Lucknow’s naib imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahali also scoffed at Mulayam, saying no politician should try and project himself as a leader or authorised representative of the Muslim. He said only the ulema could speak for the community. “In any case, this is not the time to criticise the judgment… the option of the apex court is open,” he said.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar called upon Muslims to recognise the “real Mulayam”, insinuating that the SP leader had only used the community as a vote bank. “The verdict is a balanced one… now a grand Ram temple [in Ayodhya] can become a reality,” he said.
On her part, Mayawati said on Friday that if anything went wrong in the state because of the verdict, “the Centre would be responsible”. To this, AICC secretary Pervez Hashmi said, “If Mayawati cannot handle law and order, let her resign. The Centre will do the needful.” Clearly, the political circus over Ayodhya has begun.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}