Congress distances itself from Ayodhya petitioner

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said on Friday the party had nothing to do with Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, on whose petition the Supreme Court (SC) deferred the September 24 Allahabad high court judgment on Ayodhya title suits.

“We stick to our position that the issue should be resolved through dialogue, but we have nothing to do with this petitioner,” he told reporters.

Digvijay’s assertion came in the wake of reported statements by some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders that Congress had a vested interested in getting the judgment postponed.

Even as the party claimed that it had nothing to do with Tripathi and his petition, it felt Ayodhya was not an issue that demanded urgent attention.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said, “Rahul Gandhi contextualised the Ayodhya dispute and his statement [that it was not a priority requiring urgent attention] reflected the aspirations of a large section of the youth.”

He was endorsing the party general secretary’s remarks in Guwahati that there were more important fundamental issues, such as education and infrastructure, than Ayodhya.

Congress had expressed relief on Thursday when SC ordered that the Allahabad high court judgment be deferred and listed the matter for further hearing on September 28.

Asked about the party’s future course in this matter, Tewari said: “The matter is in the Supreme Court. Notices to all parties have been issued for 28th. Centre is also a party. It is better to wait for the court order and not react to it.”