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Journalism of Courage
The President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi, has pooh-poohed the pressure-building exercise for bringing a legislation in Parliament for construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Speaking exclusively to The Indian Express today, Nadvi added that all parties concerned should wait till the court delivers its decision on the issue. ‘‘We tried for a legislation in Parliament in Shah Bano Case after the court had delivered its verdict on the issue. How can they (the VHP) demand legislation in Parliament when the court’s verdict is still awaited?’’ he asked.
He also pointed out that after rejecting the Kanchi Shankaracharya’s formula, the AIMPLB had clarified that it would wait for the court verdict. ‘‘Our doors were open for negotiation involving mosque-temple tangle but now that we have clarified that the Board is ready for court verdict, there is little scope for an out-of-court settlement,’’ he said.
On whether it was the Seer’s second letter that killed all chances of a settlement, the AIMPLB chief said: ‘‘In the second letter, the Shankaracharya withdrew the contents of the first letter and we would have not even called the executive committee meeting of the Board had we got the second letter in advance. This letter was in total contrast to the first one,’’ said.
Nadvi also remained non-committal on whether there is still scope for another round of negotiations with Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati as had been indicated by the seer himself.
On the Sangh Parivar’s claims that the artefacts recovered from the Ayodhya dig are ‘‘telling evidence’’ that suggest that a temple existed there before the masjid replaced it, Nadvi said: ‘‘We live in a secular country where each religion can be practised freely. The mosque was there and namaz was being offered there. How can that right be denied in a secular country?’’ he asked.
The maulana also refused to come on record as to which party the Board considers as having secular credentials: ‘‘Each party claims to be secular. They blame each other for the laxity that led to the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992. Nobody knows what the truth is.”
