Verdict heralds new chapter in national integration: BJP

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday said said the Ayodhya verdict favouring the construction of a temple on the disputed land would herald a new chapter in national integration.

“In so far as the judgement upholds the right of the Hindus to construct a temple at the Garbh-Grih [sanctum sanctorum] , it is a significant step forward towards the construction of a grand temple at the birth place of Lord Rama,” BJP leader L K Advani said.

“The expert opinion of the Archaeological Survey of India and other expert agencies engaged by it had clearly opined that there were remains of a Hindu religious structure where the disputed structure stood,” said Advani.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party believes that this verdict opens a new chapter for national integration and a new era for inter-community relations.? The BJP is gratified that the nation has received the verdict with maturity,” he said.

Treading cautiously on the communal minefield, a three-member Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday passed a verdict upholding the Hindu claim that the disputed site is the birthplace of Lord Rama but ruled that the land would be divided into three parts with one third going to the Muslims along with one third for the Hindus.

Rejecting the Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara?s title suit, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Thursday said Hindu deity Lord Ram was born indeed on the disputed Ayodhya site, bringing a temporary closure on the 60-year-old dispute since the judgement can now be challenged in the Supreme Court.