Days after Ayodhya verdict, controversial remarks, sharp responses and vote politics begin

Ayodhya verdict won't let sleeping gods lie

Days after Ayodhya verdict, controversial remarks, sharp responses and vote politics begin

Maintaining peace in the state after the Ayodhya verdict of September 30 was the biggest challenge," said Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in Bhopal on Saturday.

The BJP on Saturday slammed home minister P Chidambaram for his remarks that the Ayodhya title suit judgment does not justify the demolition of Babri Masjid, saying the matter was before a court and he should not jump to conclusions. "He should not judge as to what happened in 1992. Let the court decide," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said in New Delhi. Chidambaram had said on Friday, "The judgment in no way justifies the demolition of the Babri Masjid. In my view, it remains a criminal act."

Another remark that evicted sharp responses was made by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday. "The verdict appears to be have been given more on the basis of faith and belief rather than on the basis of legalities and evidence," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister told reporters.

On the brighter side, a Shia youth organisation has offered a donation of Rs 15 lakh for starting the construction of the much-debated temple at Ayodhya. "We will make a formal request to the Sunni Central Waqf Board not to go into appeal against the high court verdict and to bring an end to the long-pending dispute once and for all," Shia Hussaini Tigers chief Shamil Shamsi told reporters in Lucknow on Saturday. He also proposes to take a delegation to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board with the same appeal. Shamsi is a close kin of revered Shia cleric and scholar Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, who was also the senior vice president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.