The crucial verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on the Ayodhya issue failed to impact normal life in Orissa with schools and colleges remaining open and business establishments running their normal operations sans any untoward incident.
Taking into account the religious and political connotations of the verdict and to avert any possible incident of violence, elaborate security arrangements were made throughout the state. Security was beefed up especially around the Jagannath Temple in Puri and communally sensitive areas of Kendrapara, Jajpur Road, Bhadrak and Sundergarh districts.
In its verdict, the Allahabad High Court held that the disputed land in Ayodhya be divided equally into three parts among Hindus and Muslims and that the place where the makeshift temple of Lord Ram exists belongs to Hindus.The major political parties in the state have welcomed the judgement saying it would go a long way in resolving the long pending issue and maintaining communal harmony in the country.
“I feel the 60 year old litigation has come to an end and anybody aggrieved with the judgement can approach the apex court”, said senior Congress leader and former law minister Narasimha Mishra. “I do not want to comment on the merit of the judgement as I am yet to see the detail order, but expect everybody to respect the spirit of the verdict”, he added.
The senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and agriculture minister Damodar Rout said, “Keeping in view the communal fabric of the country, the honorable court has distributed the disputed site in three equal parts”. He said, the BJD government in the state has always strived to promote the spirit of peace and harmony among various communities staying in Orissa.
