Ayodhya Case: Fulfill Cong Govt’s 1994 Promise, RSS Tells Centre

File photo of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.

(Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia)

The RSS on Wednesday, 31 October, urged the Centre to fulfil the "promise" made in 1994 by the then Congress government in the Supreme Court, saying it had agreed at that time to side with the Hindu community if an evidence was found of a pre-existing temple before it was razed to build the Babri Masjid.

Talking to reporters, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sah sarkaryavah (joint general secretary) Manmohan Vaidya also said the issue of building a Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh was not just limited to the Hindu and Muslim communities.

“The court has said a mosque is not mandatory for namaz and the prayers can be performed on the streets as well. Besides, namaz is not accepted if it is performed on a forcibly acquired land. The court has also said that this (acquiring of land) was not a religious deed,” Vaidya said.

"The government should now fulfil the promise made in 1994," he added.

He claimed that in 1994, 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.

“Now, we have the evidence...Also, this issue has long been pending in the court without a decision. The issue is now only that of acquiring the land and handing it over for the construction of the temple,” Vaidya said.

The Supreme Court Monday,29 October, said an appropriate bench would start hearing the matters related to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute from January next year, triggering demands within the ruling BJP and the RSS for a law for an early construction of the temple on the disputed site.

The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is a centuries-old point of a tussle between Hindus and Muslims.

(With PTI inputs. This copy has been edited for length.)