The Centre has started the process of setting up a trust, as mandated by the Supreme Court in its Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid verdict, now reports have surfaced saying that Centre may be introducing a Bill that will give legislative backing to the trust. The Bill is likely to be introduced in the coming Parliament session which starts on November 18.
According to Hindustan Times, there is a strong possibility that the ministry of culture would be entrusted with the responsibility of piloting the legislation and the subsequent formation of the trust in line with the proposed legislation. A senior official told the leading daily, “The issue is being discussed at the highest level, and it is being fine-tuned. The proposed legislation is likely to lay down in detail the functioning and responsibilities of the Trust.”
The Centre is acting in line with the Supreme Court order, which cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple on the site in Ayodhya and directed it to allot a 5 acre plot at a “prominent” location to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. In its 1,045 page verdict, a five-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi ruled: “The Central Government shall, within a period of three months from the date of this judgment, formulate a scheme” under the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act, 1993. The scheme shall envisage the setting up a trust with a board of trustees or any other appropriate body...”.
