The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the proceedings before the Allahabad high court on suits related to the Sri Krishna Janambhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute, saying it will not be fair to interfere with the high court order without hearing both the sides.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has shifted its focus back to Hindutva after suffering significant losses in the recent Maharashtra assembly elections. The party has been vocal about attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and has taken a stance to "protect" a Hanuman Temple in Mumbai. Observers say this move is an attempt to regain its core voter base and counter the BJP's narrative on Hindutva, ahead of the upcoming civic polls. Analysts believe the party's "secular" stand may not be effective in the BMC elections and that its return to Hindutva is a sign of frustration from electoral setbacks.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu were among those who attended the meeting, sources said.
"Shouldn't those who killed 92 persons get death sentence?... when should capital punishment be awarded?" the 46-year-old controversial politician asked.
After a meeting of its working committee in New Delhi, the board adopted a resolution which stated that the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the maintenance of Muslim divorcee women is "against the Islamic law (Shariah)".
'While suppression of information is acceptable for the government, the Opposition's efforts at pinning the government and its leaders is labeled anti-national,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The carving work by artisans had been carried out uninterrupted since 1990 when Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party was Uttar Pradesh chief minister.
'When the Babri Masjid was demolished, we didn't take permission from anyone.'
'The Babri Masjid wasn't just a mosque, it was a test of our secularism,' says Jyoti Punwani.
He further said that time has come to discuss the issue of Ram Temple and should try to find a permanent solution.
The BJP was leveraging Hindu religious leaders who'd banded under the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for building a Ram temple at the site of a masjid, notes Aditi Phadnis.
"For an apology to Muslims, a Muslim Prime Minister is needed," Singh, who recently quit all organisational posts in his party, said while campaigning for party colleague Abu Azmi's son Farhan, who is contesting Bhiwandi assembly by-election in Maharashtra.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the bench said it has not received the information from the high court yet.
The Supreme Court refused to stay Allahabad high court's December 14 order which allowed the primary survey of the Shahi Idgah complex adjacent to the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura by a court-monitored three-member team of advocate commissioners.
"Was this the place of birth of Lord Ram? Was the Babri mosque built after demolition of temple? And whether the mosque in question was built in accordance with the tenets of Islam?"
The bench then said that it was not going to fast track the matter.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said like a Shiva temple, water drips from the ceiling in the Taj Mahal.
The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm following uproar over leakage of Liberhan Commission report on Babri Masjid demolition.
In the appeal filed before the high court, it has been pleaded that the Hindu side's suit itself is barred by order 7 rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, Naqvi said.
Lashing out at the Congress for raising the Babri Masjid demolition issue 'again and again', the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said the law is taking its course in the matter and advised the ruling party against giving 'edifications'. "It has been said several times that a procedure is separately going on for December 6 (the day of Babri Mosque demolition). This is a legal action," BJP's chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Ahead of the crucial Allahabad high court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjd dispute, the Maharashtra home department is gearing to maintain peace among the two communities in Mumbai and adjoining areas.
The term of the Liberhan Commission of inquiry has been extended by three months upto June 30, 2006.
Additional District and Sessions Judge S M Hasseb pronounced the judgment after 15-year-long proceedings. This was probably the only case where the verdict was given in connection with the post-Babri demolition violence.
The ministry of information and broadcasting on Saturday issued an advisory to all television channels and cable TV operators in the wake of the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict to adhere to programme code and ensure that debates, discussions and visuals do not incite any "divisive" or "anti-national" feelings.
"Had there been no demolition, probably the courts too would have ordered status quo," he said then. And his last wish, he said, was to live till the temple comes up.
The police had allegedly opened fire on a "mob" coming out of Hari Masjid in Central Mumbai on January 10, 1993, to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Born in Ayodhya, Ansari was the first to file the suit on the matter in the court of civil judge of Faizabad in 1949.
Ram Bahadur Rai, a veteran journalist and editor of Hindi magazine Yathawat, shares inside information on then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's plan to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
It says P C Sharma had 'connived' with the NDA government on the Babri Masjid demolition case as well as on the investigation into the Tehelka expose.
On the recent decision allowing survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, Madani said, "We have no objection to the survey. We believe that if the survey is conducted honestly, nothing will come out of it."
It urged Muslims to express their anguish by observing a peaceful bandh, but prevent vested interests from taking advantage of the situation to create trouble.
The 81-year-old Tunda, a close aide of wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was accused of carrying out blasts in five trains in different cities in December 1993 to mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
It does not rule out kidnapping and ransom either.
The poor turnout of volunteers made it evident that the 'parikrama' had failed to evoke interest among the local population, reports Sharat Pradhan
'It is imperative that all parties make a commitment that they shall abide by the final decision of the Supreme Court.' 'This will be the best way to bring a closure.' 'It is time India moves on to face several other challenges.'
The judgement is likely to be pronounced before November 17 as Justice Gogoi's tenure as the CJI comes to end on that day.
The plea, filed by advocates Shishir Chaturvedi and Karunesh Kumar Shukla, said that apart from private individuals and members of state Sunni Board, the presence of central and state government representatives was essential to ensure proper management of the funds.
The 1991 provision is an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
'He was a nobody then.' 'And whatever little his contribution was there, it was restricted to Gujarat.'
The "Indian Muslims for peace" say they would prefer an out of court settlement so that both Hindus and Muslims remain happy and no party feels aggrieved.
