Ex-BJP leader Yashwant Sinha flips, calls Ayodhya verdict 'flawed'

Changing his stance on the Ayodhya verdict, ex-BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, on Sunday stated that he found the SC judgment in the Ayodhya case 'seriously flawed'. But he also appealed to the Muslim community to accept it gracefully. He had previously expressed relief at the Ayodhya ruling. 

Sinha flip-flops on Ayodhya

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Earlier on Saturday, Sinha had stated that the verdict will stop attempts to use the issue for political gains. He also rebuked the media to act responsibly like the 'rest of them'. Sinha is a former Union Minister and was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

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Estranged veteran

Ironically, Sinha's comments carry with them more than a hint of hypocrisy as Sinha was closely attached to the rise of leaders like LK Advani during the early 1990s when the Advani-led Ram Janmabhoomi movement was at its peak. Sinha also enjoyed portfolios like Finance and External Affairs in the BJP-led government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee of 1998-2004. Until his abrupt resignation in 2018 with a heavy heart against the Modi-Shah leadership, he was part of a political party that saw its meteoric rise on the plank of the Ayodhya movement.

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Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict

Pronouncing the landmark judgment in the Ayodhya dispute case, the Supreme Court on Saturday, delivered a unanimous judgment in the title suit of the disputed area awarding it to the Hindu parties for the construction of a temple. It also directed the Centre to come up with a scheme within three months to set up a trust which will hand over the outer courtyard and inner courtyard of the site for construction of a temple. Apart from this, the SC stated that an alternate land of 5 acres is to be allotted to Muslims for the liberty of constructing a mosque, either by the Centre or the State, in a suitable and prominent place in Ayodhya. CJI Ranjan Gogoi, while delivering the unanimous judgment, dismissed the claims of the Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Nirmohi Akhara. He also termed that the three-way division of the disputed land by the Allahabad HC in its 2010 verdict is wrong.

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