Lucknow:
The Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board, whose appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court while delivering the unanimous decision on the Ayodhya case on Saturday, has welcomed the verdict.
“The Shia Central Waqf Board welcomes the Supreme Court decision and congratulates people of the country, especially those who fought the legal battle in a dignified manner,” board chairman Waseem Rizvi said in a statement.
“The dismissal of the Shia Central Waqf Board claim is not a big thing. It had only said the Ram temple should be constructed in Ayodhya and, therefore, today’s verdict is a victory for the board,” Rizvi said.
The Supreme Court, while delivering the verdict, had dismissed the appeal of the Shia Waqf Board and held that the land belonged to the government as per revenue records.
“It has been said that the mosque there was built by Mir Baqi, who was a Shia, and, if in return for that structure a five-acre land is being provided, the Shia Board should have a claim over it,” Rizvi said. “But we will not file any review petition for this purpose as we accept the decision.”
The Supreme Court, in a unanimous verdict earlier in the day, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
“We do not want any land which is provided for the structure that was built on the encroached land as the Shia Central Board has many mosques built on legitimate land,” Rizvi stressed.
“The highest court of the land has today cleared the way for the construction of Ram temple at the ‘janmasthan’ and put a legal stamp on it,” he added.
