Babri verdict: Political parties promise peace, but uncertainty rules

On the eve of the Ayodhya title suits verdict there was uncertainty in the air, though all major political parties said they would respect the judgment.

BJP said unhappy parties should approach the Supreme Court. “This has been our consistent stand, we shall stick to it,” party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

But Congress remained apprehensive of BJP’s response to the verdict. “BJP is down in the dumps after defeats in the 2004 and 2009 general elections.

For it, this is an opportunity for revival through a tried and tested formula of communal polarisation,” Digvijay Singh, party general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, said.

Pointing out that BJP milked the Ayodhya issue in the 1989 and 1996 Lok Sabha elections, he said, “But we know 2010 is not 1992. People have seen through BJP’s political game and would not be misled again. You cannot fire the same bullet twice.”

Aware of the verdict’s political implications, Congress president Sonia Gandhi issued an impassioned appeal to people to maintain peace and communal harmony at all costs.

She observed that people had shown a strong faith in the judiciary and said they should retain it. “Emotional unity is the biggest strength of the Indian society,” Sonia said.

Congress has been conducting an internal stock-taking exercise for some time. It has come round to the view that if BJP-ruled states keep fringe elements in check, the possibility of violence would come down. It appreciated Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati sending a strong signal to trouble-makers.