Law ministry, AG to weigh in on Ayodhya temple trust
AIMPLB to meet on Sunday, take a call on whether to ask for review of verdict
NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: The Union government has set the ball rolling to form a trust for the construction of a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya as instructed by the Supreme Court, said a senior official who did not want to be named.
In a historic and unanimous verdict on Saturday, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi paved the way for a Ram temple at the Ayodhya’s disputed site. The bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. The court, in its order, asked the central government to set up, within three months, a trust that will oversee the construction of the temple.
“The judgment is being studied by government law officers. Opinions of the ministry of law and the attorney general will be taken on how to proceed on setting up the trust that will fix the modalities for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya,” the official said. Additionally, a team of officials is studying the court order for its technicalities and nuances so that the trust can be constituted exactly as per the verdict, the official said.
Back in Uttar Pradesh, Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas (RJN) head Mahant Nritya Gopal Das said the body wanted chief minister Yogi Adityanath to head the trust. “CM Yogi Adityanath could head the trust in his capacity as mahant [head priest] of the Gorakhnath temple, and not as the CM,” he said. Besides being the CM, Adityanath is also the head priest) of the Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur.
On Monday, Adityanath was congratulated by members of the UP Cabinet in the first Cabinet meeting held after the SC verdict. The legislators also thanked the people of the state for helping in maintaining peace and order.
Monday’s Cabinet meeting, presided over by the CM, approved 13 issues, including the opening of the Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University.
AIMPLB KEY MEET
A lead counsel for the Muslim parties in the Ayodhya case has said the decision on seeking a review of the verdict would likely be taken in a meeting of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday.
“The decision whether to seek review of the verdict will be taken on November 17 in the meeting of the AIMPLB,” senior advocate Zafaryab Jilani told PTI. Jilani had represented the Muslim parties, including the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, in the case in trial court, Allahabad high court and the SC.
AIMPLB will hold the meeting at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, one of the state’s oldest Islamic institutions in Lucknow.
“Fifty-one members of the committee would take part in the meeting to discuss Supreme Court’s verdict and to decide whether to file a review petition or not,” Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, a senior member of AIMPLB, said.