Lucknow: Three days before the 22nd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, the oldest litigant in the case, 92-year-old Mohammad Hashim Ansari, has said that he is fed up with the politicization of the issue and doesn’t want to pursue the matter any further. “Why should I bear criticism of Hindus? I am tired of it,” he said.
Ansari also said he was ready for talks with the Prime Minister for peaceful negotiations in the matter if he promises to ensure punishment for those accused of the mosque’s demolition. “I am ready to come to the negotiation table with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but before we start talking on this issue I want Modi to put the trial of Babri Masjid demolition accused on fast track,” he added. The Special CBI courts in Lucknow and Rai Bareli have been conducting trial of the Babri Masjid demolition accused for the past 22 years, he pointed out.
A resident of Ayodhya, he has been involved since 1959 in the litigation over the ownership of the land where the demolished shrine once stood. This litigation came into the limelight after the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992.
“I do not want to pursue the matter any further and I want Ram Lalla (infant Ram) to be “free,” he said, and added that he would not attend any protest meeting on December 6 to mark the demolition anniversary.
Hashim has earlier also made statements expressing his annoyance over the progress of the case. In one instance some years ago he had accused all political parties of being disinterested in solving the vexed issue. Last year, he had attacked the Congress saying that the party was stoking fear of Narendra Modi among Muslims. He had also said that he was told Muslims in Gujarat were doing very well. But this time, his assertions were more direct and aimed at UP minister Mohammad Azam Khan’s recent statement that there was no dispute over Ram Janmabhoomi since a makeshift temple now existed there.
Accusing Azam Khan of making political capital out of the issue, Ansari said, “We are fighting the legal battle and Azam Khan is making profits out of it. How can Azam Khan term Ram Janmbhoomi a dead issue? Now he will pursue the case and not me,” he said in anger.
Hashim recalled that the All India Babri Masjid Action Committee had been formed to fight the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid case and Azam Khan was initially a member of it. But Azam khan now appeared least interested in the case and “is following in the footsteps of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.’’
He said he had earlier tried to convince Mahant Gyandas to agree to an out of court settlement but it did not work out because of the attitude of Vinay Katiyar and Ashok Singhal. “These leaders do not want a solution to the problem and want to keep it politically alive. I believe that this issue cannot be solved till eternity.”
Reacting to Ansari’s statement, Zafaryab Jilani, Convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee, said that he would “prevail” upon Ansari to reverse his decision. “In any case, it is a representative case and there are six more petitioners, including the Sunni Waqf Board. Therefore Ansari’s recusal won’t have any impact.”
On the other hand, a state Congress leader said that some BJP leaders had met Hashim Ansari in Ayodhya some days ago and probably Ansari had been “pressurized” to give this statement. Some political leaders and lawyers also believe that Ansari was not reliable and could change his stand in the coming days.
Due to his old age and illness, Ansari has nominated his eldest son Iqbal Ansari as his representative to further pursue the case.
Ansari started fighting the legal battle when he was 27 years old and now he is 92.
