Uttar Pradesh: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the repairing of covers and providing other facilities at the makeshift Ram Lalla Temple at the disputed site in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya town. The apex court said the exercise should be undertaken by the District Collector of Faizabad under the supervision of two independent observers.
On Friday, the Supreme Court had asked the central and Uttar Pradesh governments to make available whatever facilities that could be extended to pilgrims going to Ayodhya to offer prayers at the makeshift temple on the site where the Babri Masjid once stood. It was demolished during a rally on December 6, 1992 by right-wing activists, who claim the site is the birthplace of Lord Ram.
A bench of Justice Anil R Dave and Justice Kurian Joseph had asked both the governments to do whatever was necessary even as Uttar Pradesh government said that all the facilities were being made available to the pilgrims and none of them were aggrieved. “The prayer is for some facilities. If you can make these available, then do it. If possible to do something, do it,” Justice Dave told the counsel representing the governments.
In response, Uttar Pradesh Advocate General VB Singh said: “We have seen everything. No one pilgrim is aggrieved. Only the petitioner (BJP leader Subramanian Swamy) is aggrieved.” Swamy told the court that he was seeking the upkeep of the place and some facilities for the pilgrims. He also informed the court that he was asked by it to prepare a list of facilities that are needed by the pilgrims going to Ayodhya.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader had sought the court’s intervention saying that thousands of pilgrims going to Ayodhya were not being provided with basic amenities and facilities like drinking water, toilets, cloak rooms and bathing facilities even though they make payment and there was a huge corpus of money. The court has been told that pilgrims were walking for nearly four kilometres holding their footwear in their hands to have the ‘darshan’ of the deity and had sought the relaxation of “overzealous oppressive restrictions”.
Swamy has also sought the enforcement of “each and every” February 23, 1996 direction of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court which includes arrangements for proper parking of the vehicles and free movement of the pilgrims till they reach the pathway leading directly to the improvised platform where the idol is installed.
