November 9, 2019
Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
The Supreme Court has given its verdict on the long standing dispute in Ayodhya. The Court has handed over the 2.77 acre disputed land to the Hindu side for the construction of a temple through a trust. It has directed that an alternate plot of five acres be allotted to the Sunni Wakf Board for the construction of a mosque.
By this order, the five-member Constitution bench of the Supreme Court has sought to end the dispute which has been utilized by the communal forces and resulted in large-scale violence and loss of lives.
The CPI(M) has always maintained that the issue should be resolved by a judicial verdict if a negotiated settlement was not possible. While this judgment has provided a judicial resolution to this fractious issue there are certain premises of the judgment which are questionable.
The Court judgment has itself stated that the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 was a violation of law. This was a criminal act and an assault on the secular principle. The cases pertaining to the demolition should be expedited and the guilty punished.
The Court has also appreciated the 1991 Places of Religious Worship Act. Adherence to this law should ensure that no such disputes on religious places are again raised and utilized.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) urges that there should be no provocative acts using the judgment, which will disrupt communal harmony.