'We were expecting at least they would be held guilty, but instead they have gone scot-free'
The 1992 Babri Mosque demolition was an "act of planned sabotage" and not a by frenzied mob of Hindu outfits, a news portal claimed on Friday on the basis of a sting operation it had carried over a period of two years.
'If the civil code has to be put on hold, what card can the BJP play if it finds the going tough in the run-up to the general election of 2024?' asks Amulya Ganguli.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the security of former special judge S K Yadav who had pronounced the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case and acquitted all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti.
Shahi Imam of the Delhi Jama Masjid, Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, on Thursday lost his cool when a journalist questioned him regarding the Ayodhya verdict during a press conference, following which he was thrashed by supporters of the cleric.
Pakistani peacenik Hamid Mir's singular idea to ensure extremists in his country do not retaliate over the Ayodhya verdict.
Dismissing criticism of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao over the Ayodhya issue, two top officials who worked closely with him said on Monday that he tried his best to prevent demolition of Babri mosque and to ensure rule of law.
With the Allahabad High Court likely to deliver its verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri mosque title suit next month, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad rooted for a legislation to pave the way for construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday claimed that the Congress was trying to "lure Muslims with the false promise of protecting the Babri mosque" and asked the community to "beware" of a party which has no concern for its betterment and views it as a mere vote bank.
The foundation for the temple has now been filled with the final, 48th layer of roller-compacted concrete, temple trust members told reporters on Thursday.
A Special Leave Petition has been filed in the Supreme Court claiming that a Buddhist monastery (Baudh Vihar) existed at the site of Babri mosque and hence the disputed land at Ayodhya should be handed over to followers of the faith.
The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Allahabad high court's September 30 ruling on the Ayodhya title suit, which has given one third of the disputed land to Muslims. Hindu Mahasabha'a national president Swami Chakra Pani has moved the apex court, challenging the verdict which ruled for a three-way division of the disputed land around and underneath the demolished Babri mosque with two parts to Hindus and one to Muslims.
The Liberhan Commission in its probe did not even spare the Supreme Court for its 'short-sightedness' in preventing the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh on Tuesday admitted to have instructed the district magistrate not to shoot, as it could have led to multiple casualties of Karsewaks.
The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
A Muslim body fighting for rebuilding Babri Masjid in Ayodhya will not organise any protests on Saturday, on the anniversary of the demolition of the mosque, to express solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.The All India Babri Masjid Re-building Committee said it will, instead, send a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil urging her to order the rebuilding of Babri Masjid at its original site in Ayodhya or refer all disputes related to the SC.
Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, was restrained in his reaction to the Ayodhya verdict delivered by the Allahabad high court's Lucknow bench; but his joy was hardly hidden.
With the Allahabad High Court likely to deliver its verdict on the title suit of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Mosque next month, a prominent Muslim group has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explore efforts to find out an out of court settlement.
The former finance minister said he would not brush aside the incident as a mere judgemental error.
The accused include former deputy prime minister Advani, former Union ministers Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, besides Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust reported that a five-foot shivalinga, seven black touchstone pillars, six red sandstone pillars, a 'flower pinnacle' and four broken idols of gods and goddesses were found.
The Samajwadi Party's move to join hands with Kalyan Singh, who was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the Babri mosque was demolished 17 years ago, may dent the party's Muslim vote bank in the coming Lok Sabha elections with some of the minority community leaders openly raising a banner of revolt.
A local court in Ajmer has issued notices to the dargah committee, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Archaeological Survey of India on a plea seeking to declare the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a temple. The petition, filed in September, has sparked a heated debate, with politicians and community leaders weighing in on the potentially volatile issue. The dargah committee has declined to comment, but the Anjuman Syed Zadgan, a body representing the caretakers of the dargah, described the petition as a deliberate attempt to fracture society along communal lines. The petition comes just days after four people were killed in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, following a local court ordering survey of a Mughal-era shrine. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which fixed August 15, 1947, as the cut-off date for status quo on the character of religious places, is at the centre of much of the debate. Several politicians, including Union minister Giriraj Singh and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, have weighed in on the issue. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called the civil court's decision to entertain the petition unwarranted and has asked the Supreme Court to immediately intervene.
In what may be his last address to Bharatiya Janata Party MPs as Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Lal Krishna Advani on Tuesday expressed happiness over the display of the opposition unity in Parliament on every issue during the current winter session.
Rahul's two surprise visits have cheered up party cadres.
The Liberhan Commission''s Report on the Babri Mosque demolition and the Action Taken Report (ATR) will be discussed in Parliament on Monday.
Sporadic violence hit Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana region on Sunday, on the first day of the 48-hour bandh called by the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, with protestors damaging bank ATMs, torching a hotel and indulging in vandalism to press for their demand for a separate state. Normal life came to a grinding halt as the day coincided with the anniversary of Babri mosque demolition, which is observed as 'Black Day' by various groups.
The new idol of Lord Ram was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya's Ram Janmabhoomi temple on Thursday afternoon, ahead of the January 22 consecration ceremony.
There is much more to the September 24 Ayodhya verdict than just the settlement of 'who owns the disputed land' issue.
The one-time BJP stalwart, who for some years spearheaded the Ayodhya movement and was at the helm of UP affairs, when the 16th century Babri mosque was pulled down by Hindu 'karsewaks' on December 6, 1992, failed to mobilise support of more than 40-50 people .
The Madhya Pradesh chief minister described BJP's concept of cultural nationalism as "nothing but cultural terrorism".
The High Court's Lucknow bench hearing the Ayodhya title suits, while passing the order, also directed the CBI director to submit an interim progress report before the court on August 24 -- the next date of hearing.
The court is conducting the trial of accused persons, including BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharti and others.
These images of deities on pillars of the structure are not found in mosques and found in temples, the counsel for the deity told SC.
highlights of the Supreme Court judgment in which it unanimously granted the entire 2.77 acre of the disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri masjid land in Ayodhya to deity Ram Lalla.
In a damage control move, while party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday roped in a large number of Maulanas to give himself a clean chit, his second-in-command Amar Singh flew down to the well-known Islamic seminary, DarulUloom Deoband in Saharanpur district to woo the clerics there.
'All this (temple's construction) will change the fate of Ayodhya. We all want our child to get better opportunities'