Published: Saturday, Oct 2, 2010, 1:29 IST
By Harish Gupta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_centre-won-t-take-initiative-to-implement-judgment_1446326
The Manmohan Singh government is treading with extreme caution and has decided not to initiate a political process for implementation of the Ayodhya verdict. It believes that an initiative at this stage may disrupt peace.
The government would like the Commonwealth Games, visits of top dignitaries from the US, France, China and Russia and the Bihar assembly poll in October and November to conclude without any disturbance.
Even if it takes an initiative, it would not be a direct one. The effort will be to encourage a track-II dialogue to settle the matter once and for all.
The government view was articulated on Friday by two senior ministers who are members of the cabinet committee of security and Congress core committee.
While home minister P Chidambaram said the Centre had no role in the issue but to maintain the situation as it was before the verdict, defence minister AK Antony said, “Both sides will have to wait for a final judgment. It’s not final.”
At his monthly press conference, Chidambaram explained to journalists that it was a fair assumption that the matter would go to the Supreme Court (SC), which may pass an interim order and take it up for hearing.
None of the other Congress leaders who appeared on TV channels in the past two days gave indication of any initiative on the issue, either.
While Janardan Dwivedi said “we welcome and respect the judgment”, Digvijay Singh said, “The high court verdict paves the way for a fresh attempt at reconciliation among all parties.”
The government’s assumption is that since the contending parties will approach SC, it will be imperative for the apex court to ensure implementation of the high court verdict.
Congress does not want to take the initiative and burn its fingers again, particularly after the experience former prime ministers the late Rajiv Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao had.
Gandhi allowed unlocking of the gates to the disputed structure and trusted Sangh Parivar to lay the foundation stone for a temple.
Narasimha Rao also trusted the Parivar and allowed BJP leaders to assemble in Ayodhya. The rest is history.
The present establishment does not want to take that risk. Therefore, it will wait for the SC directions.
