Ayodhya verdict: Govt may not bring a Bill to set up Ram temple trust

The Narendra Modi government on Thursday indicated it may not need to bring a legislation to set up a trust to oversee construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, even as seers continued to demand that the existing Ramjanbhoomi Nyas should be entrusted with the task of construction of the proposed temple.

According to a top government official, the Supreme Court's order last Saturday stated that Section 6 of the Acquisition of Certain Area at the Ayodhya Act 1993 empowers the central government to set up a trust or an authority to whom the land would be handed over. The official, who did not wish to be named, said there is no need for a separate legislation to create the trust, and that an order from the apex court is as good as law and is binding on the legislature as well.

Meanwhile, seers associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas held a press conference in the national capital, and said they have submitted a memorandum to the government that the Nyas should be given the task of constructing the temple. There is friction between the Vishva Hindu Parishad, which has suggested that a new trust should be set up, and seers associated with the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Nyas, has already demanded that the 'Nyas' is the only trust legally eligible for overseeing the construction work.

The seers submitted a new model of the temple, different from the model kept at Ayodhya’s Karsevakpuram. They said the old model designed nearly 30-years back was obsolete. The seers said the new model was not only congruent with “classical Hindu architecture” recommended for temples in ancient texts, but factored in more land likely to be available for construction of grand temple and the possibility of millions visiting the temple every day. The seers said they would move court if the government sets up a new trust.

Earlier in the day, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that the Union government will do what it has been asked by the court, but declined to elaborate.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUEH) head Maulana Arshad Madani on Thursday said the Sunni Waqf Board should not accept the 5-acre plot which the Supreme Court in its Ayodhya judgment has directed the Centre to allot for a mosque. He said the judgment was "beyond understanding" but the outfit will respect it. The court accepted that placing idols in a mosque and demolishing it is illegal. "But the court gave its decision in favour of those responsible for it," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Wasim Rizmi on Thursday announced he is donating Rs 51,000 for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Ahead of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board's meeting to decide whether to seek a review of the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya case, the main litigant Iqbal Ansari has said he does not wish to be a party to that and the Board can do whatever it wants.