Hindu groups hail Supreme Court verdict.   ‘High-powered’ saints’ panel to decide future action on Oct 5

NEW DELHI(TIP):  Hindu groups welcomed, September 28, the Supreme Court decision refusing to refer to a larger Bench its 1994 verdict that said mosque is not integral to Islam, thereby weakening the Sunni Wakf Board’s claim over the disputed land.

The BJP’s ideological fountainhead RSS and its affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad expressed satisfaction while hoping for an early decision on the matter. Stating that all sorts of impediments to “delay the matter” (construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya) have now been removed, VHP president Alok Kumar said the next course of action would be decided at a high-powered committee of saints on October 5.

“I am satisfied that this impediment has been removed and the way is now clear for hearing of appeals in the title suits on Ram janmabhoomi. We feel all sorts of impediments were being put up to delay the main matter (construction of Ram temple), including pleas that the matter be heard after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We understand that the next hearing on the case has been fixed for October 29. The matter has been pending in the Supreme Court for long. We hope and expect that the SC will expeditiously hear the pleas,” he said.

On whether the construction of the temple would begin before the 2019 elections, he said the two issues “were not related”. A high-powered committee comprising saints associated with the Ram janmabhoomi issue will gather on October 5 and take a call on the next course of action, he said.

RSS office-bearers are expected to be present at the meeting to decide whether the matter should be left to the SC, Parliament or required fresh impetus. Notably, the issue related to the 1994 ruling has delayed the hearing in the title case. Now that the hearing will start on October 29, the most important implication of Thursday’s order could be speeding up of the title case. With less than a year to go for the polls, political observers see it as a “favorable” situation for the BJP, which had promised a “grand Ram temple “in its manifesto.

Recently, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, while speaking at a Sangh conclave “Bhavishya Ka Bharat — An RSS Perspective”, was also clear that a grand Ram temple should be constructed at Ayodhya as soon as possible. Rather, it should have been built by now, he had said.

“It (Ram temple) is the question of faith of crores of Hindus, it should have happened by now. It is only right that a grand Ram mandir is built at the place Bhagwan Ram was born. The building of the temple will end a major issue of friction between Hindus and Muslims. And if it is done amicably, it will automatically silence those who point fingers at the Muslim community,” Bhagwat had said.