“Ayodhya bhoomi pujan against Supreme Court order and constitution”,say Left parties

CPI and the CPI (M) Monday said the scheduled ‘bhoomi pujan” ceremony for a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya, which is to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is against the Supreme Court verdict in the matter and also violates the spirit of the Constitution.

In separate statements, the two parties said the dispute was resolved through a Supreme Court order which had condemned the demolition of the Babri Masjid, but the involvement of the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government in the August 5 event may “legitimise” the destruction.

The CPI (M) statement said the apex court had given its verdict and paved the way for the construction of a temple by a trust.

“The takeover of the ‘bhoomi pujan’ (ground breaking) ceremony at Ayodhya by the UP administration along with the Central government involvement at the highest level of the Prime Minister goes against both the Supreme Court verdict and the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India,” it said.

The SC verdict also condemned the December 6, 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid, describing it as a criminal act, it said.

“Far from punishing those guilty, the involvement of the Central/state governments must not provide retrospective legitimization for this destruction,” the statement said.

The CPI said the Constitution makes it clear the Indian State is a secular State and should remain neutral to all religions and faiths.

“It should not identify with any one of them. The ‘bhoomi poojan’ ceremony got transformed into a government function with full involvement of the UP government and the Union government,” it said.

“The Prime Minister’s participation has raised serious questions about secular character of the State and the Constitution,” it said.

Both the parties raised questions over organising the ceremony during a pandemic and said that preventive protocol stipulated by the Union Home Ministry rules out religious gatherings.

Reports of priests and policemen deployed at the Ayodhya site testing COVID-19 positive only highlight the risks to human lives, they said.

The two parties appealed to people across the country to uphold the Constitutional principles of secularism and justice and urged them to strictly adhere to preventive measures.

They urged people not to “permit” their religious sentiments to be exploited for “partisan” political purposes.