Ayodhya verdict: NE leaders appeal people to maintain peace

Guwahati: Soon after the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute title case on Saturday, mixed reactions have started pouring in from different sections of the Northeast, especially the political leaders.

Posting on his Twitter account, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal welcomed the historic ‘Ayodhya’ verdict pronounced by the Supreme Court calling it neither a victory nor a defeat to any party, but a victory to the centuries-old unity, integrity, and harmony of the nation.

Congratulating everyone for the historic verdict, Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb appealed all communities across the nation to maintain social harmony, peace, and unity among them in wake of the landmark announcement. He further stated that the Ayodhya verdict will help in strengthening the country’s social fabric further.

Sharing his views on the SC’s verdict, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma, appealed people of all religions to honour the verdict pronounced by the apex court. He further stated that the people of India should stay committed to the ideals of the nation.

Meanwhile, Ripun Bora, the president of Assam unit of the Congress, expressed that the verdict provided by the honourable Supreme Court should be respected and the final judgment not only opened the doors for the temple’s construction but also closed the doors for political parties like BJP to politicise more on the religious issue.

Before the SC announcement, Debabrata Saikia, Congress Legislative Party leader in Assam and Nazira MLA, expressed that whatever the verdict comes out to be, people across the nation should keep maintaining peace and unity.

Bringing down curtails to one of the longest-running religious dispute in the country, a five-member constitutional board of the Supreme Court headed by by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer on Saturday in a unanimous verdict has directed to allot the entire disputed 2.77 acres land in ‘Ayodhya’ to the Hindu litigants with a trust to be formed by the Centre within three months’ time which will also be responsible to monitor the construction of the ‘Ram Mandir’.

On the other hand, the apex court directed the Central or the state government to provide an alternate plot of 5 acres to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

In its final hearing, the Supreme Court directed the third litigant party ‘Nirmohi Akhara’ to get a representation under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution.

The Ayodhya title suit verdict came nine years after the 2:1 judgment of the Allahabad High Court that ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of land between the three parties — Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and the Nirmohi Akhara. The Lucknow Bench had ruled that Hindus and Muslims would be joint title holders of the disputed land.