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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a meeting with senior ministers in the capital, hours after the Supreme Court announced the order restoring criminal conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Venkaiah Naidu, and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari were reportedly present in the meeting, PTI quoted sources as saying.
According to PTI, the political situation in the country was discussed in the meeting, but details of the issues were not made public.
Also Read | Babri Masjid demolition case: A timeline of the long-standing dispute
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled that LK Advani, Uma Bharti and MM Joshi will face criminal conspiracy charges in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The bench comprised Justices PC Ghose and RF Nariman. The SC directed the sessions judge in Lucknow to conduct the trial in the Babri demolition case on a daily basis, and has said that the judge would not be transferred. It also ruled out a fresh trial in the case. The apex court ordered the CBI to ensure that witnesses are produced in court everyday so that there is no delay in the trial, which will have to be completed in two years.
After the ruling, the opposition demanded Uma Bharti’s resignation from her current post in the Cabinet as Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, later ruled out her resignation from the Union Cabinet. “This case is going on since 1993. Somehow it is going on and no new situation has arisen. So the situation which was prevailing will continue,” Jaitley said. When asked whether the leaders should resign after the chargesheet is filed, he added, “There have been ministers, there have been deputy prime ministers… If charge sheet is the rule (to resign), then just calculate, how many Congress chief ministers will (have to go).”
Also Read | Arun Jaitley rules out Uma Bharti resignation
When asked whether the verdict would have an impact on the selection of candidates for the posts of president and vice-president, Jaitley dismissed it as “hypothetical”. Advani and Joshi are rumoured to be in the running for the two top constitutional posts after President Pranab Mukherjee’s tenure ends on July 24 this year, and Vice President Hamid Ansari’s on August 10.
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