By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: In a move which is aimed at getting Muslim votes in the Bihar Assembly elections, lone Lok Janshakti Party MLA in Delhi, Shoaib Iqbal on Monday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Ayodhya verdict by the Allahabad High Court.
The petitioner argued that the HC decided the entire matter on the basis of “faith and belief than on the basis of law, facts and evidence.”
Shoaib Iqbal talking to SC lawyer MM Kashyap about the Ayodhya verdict at the funeral of Aslam Bhure on 3rd of October
Interestingly Mr. Iqbal has not been a party to this case. The Sunni Wakf Board which is a party in this case, although has decided to appeal in the SC but hasn’t yet moved the apex court. Even the All India Muslim Personal Law Board hasn’t yet approached the apex court against the verdict by the Allahabad HC.
So has this promptness on the part of this LJP MLA from Matia Mahal constituency in Old Delhi something to do with the Bihar Assembly poll? Apparently, the move is aimed at getting Muslim support in Bihar where in last Lok Sabha election, the party failed to open even its account. Ironically even the LJP supremo Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan was defeated in his own political field, Hajipur which has been his old constituency.
Why politics on Babri issue in Bihar elections? When this correspondent put this question before Mr. Iqbal who is known for his emotive brand of Muslims politics than that of development, he got angry and put the phone down.
The only thing Mr. Iqbal had to say in defense of this move was that, “the verdict has been pronounced on the basis of faith and is completely unacceptable to us (Muslims); because it will set a disturbing judicial precedent, which is why it was important to challenge it in the higher court.”
Senior advocate M M Kashyap filed the petition on the behalf of Mr. Iqbal. Mr. Kashyap has been associated with the case of Babri Masjid demolition. He was also the lawyer of Aslam Bhure, one of the petitioners in this case who died of shock after the Allahabad HC delivered its verdict on September 30.