Bring ordinance for Ram temple if good for country, says Babri case litigant

Amid a growing chorus from saffron outfits for an ordinance on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari, a litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, on Tuesday extended his support to the demand to bring a legislation to settle the decades-long dispute.

Iqbal Ansari is the son of Hashim Ansari, who was the main litigant in the Babri Masjid dispute. ANI Photo

NEW DELHI: Amid a growing chorus from saffron outfits for an ordinance on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari, a litigant in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case, on Tuesday extended his support to the demand to bring a legislation to settle the decades-long dispute. Ansari said he has no objection if the Centre takes a legislative route for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, believed to the birthplace of Lord Rama, where Babri Masjid once stood. Iqbal Ansari is the son of Hashim Ansari, who was the main litigant in the Babri Masjid dispute. Hashim Ansari passed away in 2016 at the age of 95. Iqbal Ansari took over the case. He said they are the law-abiding citizens and will obey the law. "We have no objection if an ordinance is brought for the construction of Ram Mandir. If bringing an ordinance will be good for the country, bring it. We are law-abiding citizens, we will obey every law," Ansari said. This comes days ahead of the proposed rallies of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena in Ayodhya in favour of Ram temple. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had announced during party's Vijayadashami event that he'll visit Ayodhya to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi questions regarding the BJP's promises of construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site. Thackeray will reach Ayodhya on November 24 to felicitate over 100 Hindu seers, he is scheduled to hold a massive rally the next day. Similarly, the VHP plans to hold a "sant sammelan" in Ayodhya on November 25. The two right-wing Hindu outfits have claimed that lakhs of their activists and Ram Bhakts would reach Ayodhya to participate in their respective functions. Last week, Ansari has said the members of his community were felling insure and may be thinking of migrating out of the city because of proposed rallies by the Shiv Sena and the VHP. He also demanded security for his community. "We demand from the government to deploy special forces to protect the lives and properties of Muslims against the hooliganism of the VHP and Shiv Sena activists. They may attack us to serve their hidden agenda of making Ayodhya free of Muslims," he has said.