By IANS,
Ayodhya: Residents of Ayodhya largely want that the various parties in the Ayodhya title suit case must accept the High Court’s judgment and should not move Supreme Court, as it may initiate another legal battle that may take several years more to reach conclusion.
“We have seen what happened in the case in which the verdict was pronounced by the High Court in Lucknow today (Thursday)… It took nearly 60 years… As we don’t want another legal battle to start, we urge the parties involved in the case that they should not move the apex court in the interest of the public,” Haji Assad Ahmad, the corporator of the Ram Kot ward of the city, told IANS.
Echoing similar sentiments, Abdul Qayum, a retired teacher, said: “You must have now realised that the common man of the country, particularly the residents here, just don’t want to keep the dispute alive… Common people very well know that they would not lose or win anything out of this dispute that has been exploited by political outfits in the past.”
“Residents of Ayodhya have been worst affected by the age-old dispute… Ask them and they would tell you how life has been for them amid security checks, flag marches and other operations that make you feel every time that the place you are living in is highly sensitive.”
Chandan Pandey, a post-graduate student at the Saket Degree College said: “Enough is enough… It has been 60 long years. It’s the time to move on and bury the dispute. Both Hindus and Muslims here feel that the high court’s judgment should mark the closure of the legal battle.”
Karuna Shankar, who runs a coaching centre, said there was an urgent need to focus on more issues related to development, education and infrastructure, instead of keeping the age-old issue alive.
“We need hospitals in Ayodhya, jobs for youths, better educational institutions. We need all-round development of Ayodhya. If the dispute continues to remain at the centre stage, Ayodhya will never progress… It would not wrong if I say the development of the city has virtually come to a standstill for the last several years,” he added.
Residents were of the view that Muslim and Hindu clerics must take up the initiative to project that the common man would not achieve anything from the issue.
“Clerics from both the communities must appeal to the parties to end the dispute at this stage. They can also take necessary steps to resolve the issue by an amicable settlement that would be the best option to deal with such an issue which has religious sentiments attached to it,” said Qasim Malid, a resident of Paanji Tola here.