NEW DELHI: Filing a review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict will not be in the interest of Muslims and will “harm” Hindu-Muslim unity, National Commission for Minorities chairperson Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi said on Sunday.
The minority panel chief said filing the review petition would send a message to the Hindus that they were trying to put roadblocks in the way of building the Ram temple. He also urged the Muslim side to accept the five-acre alternative land to be given for a mosque, saying it would be respecting the judiciary by doing so.
In an interview to PTI, Rizvi said the NCM had held a meeting after the Supreme Court verdict and all its members, in one voice, had said the verdict should be accepted. The NCM chairperson said Muslims should help in building the temple in Ayodhya, while Hindus should help in the construction of the mosque. He said it would prove to be a milestone in strengthening the social harmony between the two communities.
“Review petition should not be filed at all because all sides, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, had promised that the verdict given by the Supreme Court will be respected,” Rizvi said. He alleged that Muslim bodies like the AIMPLB and the Jamiat were going back on their word after making the proclamation that the apex court’s verdict would be respected.
“Not just now, for years they have been saying that they will accept the verdict by the Supreme Court, then what is the need for review?” Rizvi asked.
Rizvi said just four-five members of the AIMPLB, including All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, were in favour of filing a review petition. The NCM chief alleged that Owaisi does politics using Muslims and wants to “keep them caught up in such issues so that he gets the votes”.
In its judgement in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title case on November 9, the Supreme Court had ruled that the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land should be handed over to deity ‘Ram Lalla’ (infant Ram), who was one of the three litigants. The five-judge constitution bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya to build a mosque.
Rizvi said the Muslim side should accept the five-acre land, adding that they would be respecting the government and the court by doing so.
“There are six-seven mosques in Ayodhya and Muslim population is not much so they suffice,” he said.
“But it is not an issue of mosque. If the Muslim side accepts the land to be allotted by the government, it will be respecting the government and the court.”
Rizvi also hit out at AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani, saying some people like him have made the Ayodhya issue “their livelihood” and that is why they want to keep it alive. (PTI)
