By IANS,
New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday urged people to maintain peace and harmony in the wake of the Ayodhya verdict and also said the Allahabad High Court order needed to be examined “carefully” and “status quo” at the disputed site will be maintained until the cases are taken up by the Supreme Court.
“The orders delivered by the three judges need to be examined carefully. The high court itself has directed that the status quo as prevailing till date shall be maintained for a period of three months,” the prime minister said in an appeal following the judgment.
He said the “correct conclusion, at this stage, is that the status quo will be maintained until the cases are taken up by the Supreme Court”.
A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court ruled that the spot in Ayodhya where a makeshift temple was built after razing the Babri mosque in 1992 was indeed where Hindu god Ram was born.
The prime minister said that the judgment was the “culmination of a long judicial process involving a sensitive matter on which different sections of the people have held different views.”
Appealing for maintaining peace in the wake of the Ayodhya verdict, the prime minister asked people to be “vigilant” and not let “disruptive elements” succeed in disrupting peace and harmony.
He also appealed to people to show respect for all religions and religious beliefs in the highest traditions of Indian culture.
“I have full faith in the people of India. I also have full confidence in the traditions of secularism, brotherhood and tolerance of our great country,” he said.
“I know that often it is only a few mischief makers who create divisions in our society,” the prime minister added.
“I would appeal to my countrymen to be vigilant and not let such people succeed in disrupting peace and harmony. You should be particularly careful with regard to rumours that disruptive elements could propagate to create ill-will between communities,” he added.
“My appeal to all sections of the people is to maintain peace and tranquility and to show respect for all religions and religious beliefs in the highest traditions of Indian culture,” he noted.
He assured that the government would remain “fully committed to upholding the rule of law and maintaining peace, order and harmony”.
“It is my hope that the response of the people of India to the judgement will be respectful, dignified and do our country proud,” the prime minister hoped.
By a majority decision, the Lucknow bench of the high court also ruled that the land around the disputed site should be divided into three parts — one going to Hindus, another to Muslims and the third to Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious order and a litigant in the case.