The Hindu : Disturbing signals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 03, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Disturbing signals

IF THE VISHWA Hindu Parishad's latest ultimatum to the Centre to hand over the so-called undisputed (acquired) land in Ayodhya and its accompanying threat to begin construction of the Ram temple in any event on a date to be set by a sant sammelan later this month portend a replay of what the nation witnessed around this time last year, there are already disturbing signals that the Atal Behari Vajpayee regime is in search of ways to help the VHP realise its patently illegal objective. Remember, even last year, the Government sought to play the same game, what with the then Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, finding nothing illegal or unconstitutional about restoring the `undisputed' portions of the acquired land to their original owners and the Attorney-General, in a subsequent context, contending that allowing a `shila pooja' or `shila daan' in that area would not amount to altering the status quo. That it was the Supreme Court's order — ruling out "any religious activity, either symbolic or actual" — which ultimately saved the day for justice and the rule of law is history. Now, Mr. Jaitley is back in the Cabinet after a seven-month stint as BJP general secretary; the timing of his re-induction, the sense of urgency attached to it and the assignment of the Law portfolio are circumstances too significant to be ignored in the evolving Ayodhya context.

Any transfer of the `undisputed' land, pending settlement of the title suit, as demanded by the VHP and the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas it controls, will be a contravention of the 1993 Act under which the land was taken over. The rationale and justification for the acquisition by the Government of lands adjacent to the disputed site where the Babri Masjid had stood before demolition lay in the imperative of ensuring that the final outcome of adjudication is not rendered meaningless or infructuous by the existence of any structures that could create new issues. And the VHP and the RJN want possession of the undisputed area only to start construction of the Ram temple, their declared goal. Nothing could be a more brazen or audacious attempt at defying the law, a bent of mind that is equally manifest in the two outfits' unconcealed contempt for the judicial system. Considering that the Government, in whom the acquired land is vested, has the status of a trustee and has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the objectives of the 1993 enactment are achieved and not thwarted in any manner, it is clearly not for the Vajpayee regime to facilitate, either directly or indirectly, the land transfer at this stage as demanded by the VHP-RJN combine since that would mean furthering a calculated attempt by vested interests to defeat the very purposes it is statutorily enjoined to serve.

Viewed in this perspective, the option the Union Government is reported to be seriously considering, namely moving the apex court for an early decision on petitions relating to the transfer of the `undisputed' land, is open to serious question suggesting, as it does, collusion with the very parties that the 1993 Act is meant to hold in check pending a final resolution of the dispute. The bottomline that needs to be recognised is that the 1993 Act is meant to underline the state's commitment to secular governance by way of correcting a terrible wrong perpetrated on December 6, 1992, and, as such, it would be grossly offensive to any sense of justice to hand over the acquired land (adjacent to the disputed site) to the very majoritarian forces responsible for the destruction so that they are enabled to gain from the demolition and accomplish their goal of constructing a Ram temple at the disputed site.

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