Cong, radicals are to blame for dragging Ram Temple case: Shia Board

Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board has blamed the Congress party and radical Muslim leaders for the Ayodhya land dispute being, what the board believed, entangled in legalities.

"Due to some radical Muslims and politics of the Congress party, the issue of construction of the Ram Temple is stuck in courts," the Shia body chief, Syed Waseem Rizvi, said on Monday.

Rizvi's comments have come ahead of the Supreme Court hearing pleas challenging the Allahabad High Court ruling.

The 2010 verdict had divided the disputed land in Ayodhya into three parts for each of the parties- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

The Shia Central Waqf Board, under Rizvi, often takes a line, which is contrary to the majority Muslim view on the Ram Temple issue.

Last year, the board said it was in favour of a grand Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

On Monday, Rizvi reiterated a somewhat similar sentiment.

"The God who decides the fate of mankind in the whole world is today waiting for a human court to decide on his own abode. This is a matter of shame for all human being all across the world," Rizvi asserted.

The Supreme Court, on September 27, had declined to refer the Ayodhya land dispute case to a larger Constitutional bench, removing roadblocks for early hearing of the appeals that challenged the 2010 verdict.

The top court held that all religions and religious places need to be equally respected. "Ashoka's Edicts preach tolerance to faith of others," said Justice Ashok Bhushan as he read out the verdict.

On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph are expected to hear the appeals filed in the matter.