Narendra Modi directs ministers to avoid unnecessary statements ahead of Ayodhya verdict, 'maintain harmony'

New Delhi: Ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on the Ayodhya issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the sensitive matter with his council of ministers here on Wednesday and asked them to refrain from making unnecessary statements on the subject and maintain harmony in the country, sources said. [caption id=“attachment_7503161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] The prime minister made these remarks at a meeting of the council of ministers, while asserting the need to maintain an atmosphere of amity and harmony in the country. The Supreme Court is likely to deliver its verdict on the emotive Ayodhya issue before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi retires on 17 November. In the latest edition of his “Mann ki Baat” radio programme on 27 October, Modi had recalled how the government, political parties and civil society prevented attempts to create fissures when the Allahabad High Court ruling on the disputed land in Ayodhya was to be delivered in 2010. He had described it as an example of how a united voice could strengthen the country. The prime minister told his council of ministers that they should refrain from making unnecessary remarks on the issue and maintain an atmosphere of amity and harmony, the sources told PTI. He also emphasised that the verdict should not be seen through the prism of victory and defeat, they added. The remarks of the prime minister came days after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked its workers and spokespersons to refrain from making emotive and provocative statements on the Ram temple issue. The party also told its MPs to visit their constituencies for maintaining calm. The ruling party’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), issued a similar word of caution to its cadre a few days ago. The top brass of the Sangh, at its recent meeting of “pracharaks”, had asked them not to celebrate or carry out processions if the Ram temple verdict was in their favour. Senior RSS and BJP leaders reached out to prominent Muslim clerics and intellectuals on Tuesday and held a meeting with them, during which it was stressed that irrespective of the nature of the court ruling, there should neither be “junooni jashn” (excessive celebration) nor “haar ka hungama” (brouhaha over defeat). The meeting was held at the residence of Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi here in the national capital. A five-judge Constitution bench, led by the CJI, reserved its verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case on October 16 after a marathon 40-day hearing.