Babri Masjid-Ram Temple issue: CPI(M) calls SC decision 'superfluous and unwise'

New Delhi: Terming as “superfluous and unwise” CJI JS Khehar’s suggestion to settle the Ayodhya dispute outside court, CPI(M) on Wednesday said the Supreme Court must decide who owns the land where the Babri Mosque once stood. “The suggestion, given by CJI Khehar, asking the parties concerned in the Ayodhya dispute to settle the matter through talks, is superfluous and unwise,” CPI(M) Politburo said in a  statement. [caption id=“attachment_2903690” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Babri Masjid. Representational image. AFP[/caption] There is a “long history” of negotiations for a settlement and all those efforts proved to be “infructuous”, it said. The situation changed in 1992 and there was no scope for further talks as one side had “unilaterally” taken steps to demolish the mosque, it alleged. The Politburo said, “For the higher judiciary to now suggest talks is to ignore how the law was broken and the Constitution trampled upon.” It also objected to Khehar asking BJP leader Subramanian Swamy to consult the parties concerned on whether they can hold talks to settle the dispute outside court. The Politburo said Swamy is not a petitioner in the case and is a “known advocate” of removing the mosque and building the Ram Temple at the spot. “The judicial process is concerned with who has the title to the land where the Babri Masjid stood. The Supreme Court must adjudicate on this matter before it and discharge its judicial responsibility,” the Left party said. The apex court had on Tuesday asked parties concerned to sit together to arrive at a consensus on the dispute, which has been dragging on for decades. “It is a sensitive and sentimental issue and it’s best that it is settled amicably,” it had said.