"Azad saab (Ghulam Nabi Azad) had spoken on behalf of all of us that we don't accept this timeline -- we don't accept delimitation, election, statehood, we want delimitation, statehood and then election. If you want to hold polls, you'll have to restore statehood first," said Omar Abdullah.
Unlike other top police officers, A A Khan spoke boldly --- be it while defending 'encounters' in many of which he was involved, or in tracing the cause of the ghastly Radhabai Chawl incident, recalls Jyoti Punwani. Encounters were useful, he said, because hardened criminals who were targeted were beyond reform and no good for society.
Earlier, board's counsel Zafaryab Jilani had said that he is not satisfied with the verdict.
'Modi will not require the Ayodhya issue because he already has other emotive issues like Pakistan.' 'The BJP does not need the temple for political mobilisation anymore.'
Adityanath spent hours reviewing the arrangements for the ceremony at the Ram Janmabhoomi, where the temple will be constructed following the go-ahead last year by the Supreme Court.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, which started the day-to-day proceedings on August 6 after mediation proceedings failed to find an amicable solution to the vexatious dispute, has revised the deadline for wrapping up the proceedings and has fixed it on October 17.
Behind this never-say-die attitude of the BJP is probably the calculation of the Roman emperors that if bread is scarce, give the people circus, observes Amulya Ganguli.
He felt that if one "approaches the negative in a positive manner", things automatically fall into place.
Citing that many Muslims fought in Mewar king Maharana Pratap's army against Mughal emperor Akbar, Bhagwat suggested that in India's history people from all faiths stood together whenever there was an attack on the country's culture.
'Given the growing animus against the Mughals in the Sangh Parivar, only a brave person will be ready to bet that no harm will ever be done by Hindutva storm-troopers to the Taj,' says Amulya Ganguli.
Sports psychologist Maqbool Babri will accompany the Pakistan cricket team on their tour of India this month for the first bilateral series between the two countries since 2007.
The Padma Bhushan was conferred on 17 personalities including N Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, Krishna and Suchita Ella of Bharat Biotech, Cyrus Poonawalla, Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, Sunder Pichai, chairman of Google.
The apex court had on July 11 sought a report on the mediation process and said that a day-to-day hearing might commence from July 25 if the court decides to conclude the mediation proceedings.
The meeting came a day after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up recently to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, met for the first time on Wednesday.
Mahant Narendra Giri, the newly elected president of All India Akhara Parishad, met Hashim Ansari, the oldest surviving litigant in the Babri Masjid case.
'How can someone who has never been associated with the movement and never had darshan of Ram Lalla mediate on the matter of temple construction? We have gone to jail for it, faced house arrest and have been fighting court cases. Sri Sri does not qualify to mediate on the matter.'
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Sena said that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is more temperate than Khan and that Owaisi has never spoken against the interest of the country.
"I am supporting the Hindu side," lawyer M C Dhingra, appearing for Shia Wakf Board, told the bench.
Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the spokesperson of Trust's president Nritya Gopal Das said, "We have suggested two auspicious dates -- August 3 and 5 -- for the prime minister's visit based on calculations of movements of stars and planets."
The Supreme Court sought the Centre's response on Friday to a plea filed before it challenging the validity of certain provisions of a 1991 law, which prohibit the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947.
The Delhi government also advised all private schools to remain closed on November 9 as a precautionary measure in view of the verdict.
The BJP, however, denied the former three-time state chief minister's assertion on Ranjan Gogoi who was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member by the government in March.
Joginder Tuteja looks at Bollywood's new lot of actress-turned-producers.
'The signals were clear. December 6 would not witness another show of "Hindu" strength staged periodically in Ayodhya. Something grave was afoot.' Radhika Ramaseshan's personal recollection of the events of December 6, 1992.
The Muslim parties also attacked 2003 ASI report which had found certain remains, idols and artefacts suggesting existence of a structure before Babri Masjid.
'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
The agency has named 247 people as accused in the case, according to NIA sources.
The Election Commission sent a notice to Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP's Mumbai chief. This is probably because a leading newspaper highlighted his utterances on its front page.
Top India batsman Shikhar Dhawan saw it as a historic day of celebration, while former cricketer Mohammed Kaif reminded the country of its culture of peaceful coexistence as sportspersons reacted to the bhoomi pujan ceremony for a temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Khan, a local politician and social worker, has been openly pro-temple during the bitter temple-mosque dispute. But there are other signs that his community wants to move on, beyond the dispute that many Hindus and Muslims feel held Ayodhya back.
'The court can strengthen the verdict by ensuring that Muslims don't feel shortchanged or cheated.'
"Shouldn't those who killed 92 persons get death sentence?... when should capital punishment be awarded?" the 46-year-old controversial politician asked.
It accused the then chief minister Kalyan Singh of not deploying sufficient forces to protect the Babri masjid.
The prime minister made these remarks at a meeting of the council of ministers, while asserting the need to maintain an atmosphere of amity and harmony in the country.
Centre's counsel Lala Ram Gupta told the Liberhan Commission that there is no evidence to suggest a conspiracy.
'During the Congress rule, the solicitor general had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, stating that the government would side with the sentiments of the Hindu community if an evidence was found of a razed temple, where the mosque was built'
Narendra Modi's agenda is to build a Ram mandir, Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit, tells Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com
Called "Babuji", the former chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh and former Governor of Uttar Pradesh in the post-Babri Masjid demolition era was considered as a people's man and was accessible to all.
"The design of the mosque has been prepared using modern technology, and it will be egg-shaped without any dome. The two-storeyed mosque will not have any minaret. Solar power will be installed in the mosque, and around 2,000 people will be able to offer 'namaaz' at the same time," he said.
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