Court order on Gyanvapi: Congress, opposition parties retain silence

Not just the Congress, almost all opposition parties preferred to maintain a calculated, and perhaps politically convenient, silence on the issue.

The dismissal of the challenge by the masjid committee meant that the civil suits will be heard in detail and examination of evidence will follow. (Express Photo by Anand Singh)

In May, when a Varanasi court had ordered a videography survey of Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex, the Congress had taken a stand that no attempt should be made to “change the status of any place of worship.”

On Monday, the party preferred silence after the Varanasi district and sessions court’s order in the Gyanvapi case.

Not just the Congress, almost all opposition parties preferred to maintain a calculated, and perhaps politically convenient, silence on the issue.

Read in Explained | What is the dispute around the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple complex in Varanasi?

The dismissal of the challenge by the masjid committee meant that the civil suits will be heard in detail and examination of evidence will follow.

Asked about the court verdict, a Congress leader said, “They have done nothing. The matter is sub judice. We will react when something comes up. Nothing has happened today. It is just a notice on an ongoing proceeding. We are not reacting because the legal process…is on.”

Also Read | BJP welcomes Gyanvapi order, UP Deputy CM says Mathura, Kashi churning

In May, the Congress had referred to the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, passed by the then P V Narasimha Rao government, and said, “We believe that all other places of worship should remain in the status they are and they were.”

The Act seeks to maintain the “religious character” of places of worship as it was in 1947, except in the case of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, which was already in court.

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Addressing the media in Udaipur, on the sidelines of the party’s chintan shivir, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had said, “The Places of Worship Act was passed after deep consideration in Narasimha Rao’s government. The only exception in that Act was to the Ram Janmabhoomi. We believe that all other places of worship should remain in the status they are and they were. We should not make an attempt to change the status of any place of worship. That will only lead to huge conflict and it is to avoid such conflict that the Narasimha Rao government passed the Places of Worship Act.”