The Communist Party of India (Marxist) have released a statement condemning the Varanasi court order that allowed an archaeological survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex abutting the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple.
Order of the Varanasi Civil Court tantamounts to violation of “The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act”.
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 9, 2021
Strict guidelines must be passed by the higher courts to the lower courts to not pass orders that violate the law.https://t.co/KpIlfZEOaJ pic.twitter.com/cmphHy8YTe
“The order of a civil court in Varanasi for a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque by the Archaeological Survey of India to ascertain whether a temple existed at the spot is violative of the extant law in the matter,” the statement by CPI(M) read.
It said that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, enjoins the maintenance of the status quo in all such religious places of worship. It urged the higher judiciary to immediately intervene to veto the lower court order.
Usual suspects cry hoarse as Varanasi Court directs ASI to survey Gyanvapi mosque structure
Predictably, the Varanasi Court order had ruffled quite a few feathers, with Islamists and left-leaning liberals suffering a meltdown over the court’s decision to allow ASI to carry out a survey. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, in particular, had a prolonged meltdown on Twitter, where he bitterly opposed the decision and questioned the legality of the order.
In a series of tweets, Owaisi opposed the court decision that allowed the ASI survey so it could be used to decide on pleas that allege the mosque was built by Mughal emperors after partially demolishing a Hindu shrine. Owaisi did not stop at that. He asked the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Masjid committee to immediately appeal before this order and get it rectified, accusing the ASI of being a ‘midwife’ to all kinds of Hindutva lies.
|@AIMPLB_Official and Masjid Committee must IMMEDIATELY appeal before this order & get this rectified. ASI is only likely to perpetrate a fraud & history will be repeated as was done in the case of Babri. No person has any right whatsoever to change nature of a masjid 2/n
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 8, 2021
He further slammed the government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture, adding that the findings of the ASI are only likely to perpetrate fraud and cautioned against history repeating itself as in the controversial Babri structure case.
No person has any right whatsoever to change the nature of a masjid, a rattled Owaisi tweeted.
The decision had also caused severe heartburn for Islamist ‘journalist’ and habitual fake news peddler Rana Ayyub, who was quick to pull out the victim card to whip up fear among the country’s Muslim population. The order presented Ms Rana with yet another opportunity to feign victimhood and raise questions on the vibrant democracy of the country.
“Setting the stage for demolition of yet another mosque in India, sanctioned by the judiciary, endorsed by the regime, abetted by the silence of its liberals and enabled by the complicity of the citizenry. Yet another day of humiliating the Muslim minority. Democracy anyone ?” Ms Ayyub lamented.
Setting the stage for demolition of yet another mosque in India, sanctioned by the judiciary, endorsed by the regime, abetted by the silence of its liberals and enabled by the complicity of the citizenry. Yet another day of humiliating the Muslim minority. Democracy anyone ? https://t.co/14AHCS3LYg
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) April 9, 2021
Prashant Bhushan, who fought tooth and nail to stop the hanging of 1993 Bombay blast accused, was also rattled with the Varanasi Court’s order to allow the ASI to carry out survey of the Gyanvapi mosque structure. Bhushan called it mischievous and claimed that it is totally against the Places of worship (special provisions Act) 1991.
Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi Mosque Land Title Dispute: Varanasi Court Allows ASI Survey;
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) April 9, 2021
This is totally against the Places of worship (special provisions Act) 1991 & mischievous. Must be immediately stayed by the HChttps://t.co/w7pPk7AanN
Kapil Komireddi, another left-leaning liberal, had a hard time digesting the fact that Varanasi court had allowed the ASI to conduct a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque structure. In fact, he used the verdict to diss against the Hindu nationalists.
Kapil said Hindu nationalists don’t want to “reconcile” with the past, they want to weaponise it. He asserted that what happened in Ayodhya will be repeated at dozens of other places. However, in this rant against, there’s a tacit admission that there indeed exists a temple at the Gyanvapi mosque structure.
I wrote this tweet on the day of the Ayodhya decision. It was censored in India.
— Kapil Komireddi (@kapskom) April 8, 2021
Today’s decision to throw open Gyanvapi to archeological surveyors demonstrates yet again that Hindu nationalists don’t want to achieve reconciliation with the past. They want to weaponise it. pic.twitter.com/6wveIiQldl
Varanasi Court allows the ASI survey of the Gyanvapi mosque structure
In a big step forward, the Varanasi district court on Thursday allowed the ASI to conduct an archaeological survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. The mosque has built on the temple ruins is glaringly visible from the naked eye.
A local lawyer, VS Rastogi had filed a suit in the district court demanding that the land on which the Gyanvapi Mosque stands be restored to Hindus since the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1664 had pulled down a portion of the 2000 year old Kashi Vishwanath Temple to build the Gyanvyapi Mosque there.
While the suit itself was contested by the Gyanvapi Mosque Committee, the Varanasi District Court has now allowed an ASI archaeological survey of the complex. According to reports, all expenses of the survey are to be paid by the Uttar Pradesh government.
It may be noted that the claim that Places of Worship Act prevents archaeological survey of a religious structure is not correct. The act only prohibits the change of the religious character of any place of worship, it does not prevent any study on such places. The Varanasi court has only ordered ASI to study whether the claim that Gyanvapi mosque was build after destroying a temple is correct or not. Even though the mosque still has parts of the ancient temple, the court has ordered an in depth survey of the area. The court has not ordered that the mosque be converted to a temple, like the left-liberals and Islamists are reacting to the order.
