Babri verdict reactions: Justice prevailed for some, for others it was a dark day

Hyderabad: After he was acquitted by a special CBI court, Lucknow, in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani said the judgment vindicates his belief and commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

“I wholeheartedly welcome the judgment by the special court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The judgment vindicates my personal and BJP's belief and commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi movement,” he said.

�

A CBI special court delivered its verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case on 30 September acquitting all 32 accused, including senior BJP leaders L.K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharti.

Meanwhile, Murli Manohar Joshi said, “It's a historic decision by the court. This proves that no conspiracy was hatched for the 6 December incident in Ayodhya. Our program and rallies were not part of any conspiracy. We are happy, everyone should now be excited about Ram Mandir's construction.”

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, tweeted, “Satyameva Jayate! The decision of the special court of CBI is welcome. Saints, BJP leaders, VHP officials, and social workers were plagued by political bias by the then Congress government and reprimanded by false cases. They should apologize to the public for this conspiracy.”

The Defence minister, Rajnath Singh, also tweeted, “I welcome the decision of the special court of Lucknow to acquit 32 people, including L.K Advani, Kalyan Singh, Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, and Umaji, in the Babri Masjid demolition case. This verdict has proved that justice will prevail.”

Some, however, condemned the special court's verdict. The CPIM general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, tweeted, “A complete travesty of Justice. All charged with criminal conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid acquitted. It self imploded? The Constitution Bench headed by then CJI had said that demolition was an “egregious” violation of law. Now this verdict! Shame.”

Political activist and Swaraj India national president Yogendra Yadav tweeted, “Now only jokes are left. Or have we become a joke.”

Journalist Rana Ayyub tweeted, “Every day in India is a new low by our own standards. A day like today when Muslims and Dalits are shown their true place, we must live like second class citizens, we must not seek justice, we must not dare to raise our voice. Anxious, edgy, angry, restless, exhausted.”

She also tweeted a quote by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, “When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”

Meanwhile, journalist Saba Naqavi tweeted, “Sad day when we see two medieval injustices in modern India. September 29, 2020.”