ASI seeks time, Waqf stay on Ayodhya digging

Even as a representative of the Sunni Central Board of Waqfs today asked the court to stop digging at the disputed site in Ayodhya, the Archeological Survey of India bargained for more time to complete the excavation work.

The ASI submitted its progress report to the court and asked for two months to complete digging and another 15 days for table work. On the other hand, the oldest living plaintiff of the Babari title suit, Mohd Hashim Ansari, filed a petition before the Lucknow Bench, seeking ‘‘review and recall’’ of its March 5 orders under which excavations began. The court has reserved its order on both issues.

Temple exists: Katiyar

AYODHYA: BJP state unit president Vinay Katiyar said on Monday that the Ram temple already exists at the disputed site in Ayodhya and only ‘‘grandeur’’ was left to be added to it. He said the visit by millions of people to the Ram Lalla was the biggest evidence to authenticate the presence of the temple there. (PTI)

According to sources, Ansari boycotted the excavations from day one and the district administration failed to cajole him to be present at the site. His counsel, Mushtaq Ahmad Siddiqui, argued that digging was being done in violation of a Supreme Court order that called for a status quo at the site.

‘‘When the President made a reference to the apex court, wanting to know whether the dispute could be solved through excavations, the court rejected his reference, saying it was ‘superfluous’. On this basis, any digging at the site is in violation of the SC order,’’ Siddiqui said.