People's Democratic Party president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti criticised a "bad decision" taken by former Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, alleging it led to searches in mosques. She said that the judgement has led to a situation where "Shivlings are being searched for in every mosque", which is pushing the country towards division as the "foundation of secularism is being shaken".
"I want to say that one of our former chief justices of India has done a very bad thing for this country by giving a decision regarding the Gyanvapi Mosque that allows action to be taken wherever a complaint is raised," Mufti said.
"This will lead the country toward division. It is dragging us toward bloodshed, as we saw in some incidents in Uttar Pradesh, where four or five innocent people were caught in the chaos," she added.
She further referred to a previous decision by the Supreme Court to maintain the status quo of all religious places, saying, "This is despite the 1991 Supreme Court judgement, which clearly stated that the status of all religious places as they existed in 1947 -- be it temples or mosques -- must not be altered."
"Unfortunately, the former chief justice passed a judgement that has led to a situation where Shivlings are being searched for in every mosques. This interference has even extended to sacred Muslim sites like Ajmer Sharif, which holds significance for Hindus as well," she added.
Mehbooba Mufti also expressed her concerns over the state of the nation, saying, "If this continues, God forbid, we may return to the conditions of partition in 1947."
The PDP chief claimed that more than Muslims, its Hindus who visit Ajmer Sharif to pray and seek blessings. "This shrine is over 800 years old. If this trend continues, I fear they might soon start searching Muslim homes," she said.
Mufti stated these actions are being carried out to divert public attention from issues like development and jobs to divisive topics. "They have no jobs to offer, no good schools or hospitals and no support for farmers. Instead, by creating Hindu-Muslim conflicts, attention is being diverted from these pressing issues," she said.
Her statment comes as a court in Ajmer on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and the Ajmer Dargah Committee seeking response to a petition that demanded a physical survey of the dargah.
The former chief minister, Pointing to the worsening situation over such issues, said "this will lead the country toward division". "It is dragging us towards bloodshed, as we saw in some incidents in Uttar Pradesh, where four or five innocent people were caught in the chaos," she added.
Stressing on the country's secular foundations, she added: "Let us not forget that leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi ji, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Sardar Patel built this country on the foundation of secularism. Now, those very foundations are being shaken. Hindus and Muslims are being pitted against each other."
She riterated that the the role of one of the former chief justice has been "extremely damaging" in this regard.