Babri panel ready to abide by court fiat

“I have yet to come across any historical fact which conclusively establishes the presence of a temple at the place where Babri Masjid was built by Mir Baqi,” Jilani said. Even the Indian History Congress “proved” in its 1996 report that Babri Masjid was not built on the “debris of any temple,” he added.

The Maulana, who is here to attend an ongoing international conference at the Nadwatul Ulema, maintained that no mosque should be built by dismantling any religious structure. “A mosque can be built only in place of a mosque and not a temple,” he told journalists here on Friday evening. He also spoke in favour of women offering namaaz inside a mosque.

Meanwhile, the Babri Masjid Reconstruction Committee has decided to start work on the construction of the mosque at Ayodhya from December 14. Apart from organising a langar there during December 6 to 14, it has also decided to “felicitate the kin of those killed in the riots” following the demolition on December 6, 1992. Condemning the Reconstruction Committee’s plans, Jilani said their decisions were aimed at fanning communal tension.The All India Muslim Forum also criticised the Reconstruction Committee.

However, Chief Minister Kalyan Singh has reiterated his resolve not to allow construction of any mosque within the Panchkosi Parikrama Marg in Ayodhya.