Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) [India], May 17 : Terming the Madhya Pradesh High Court's order on the Bhojshala-Kamal Maulana mosque complex as "blatantly one-sided," the Kamal Maulana Welfare Society President Abdul Samad on Saturday stated that they will approach the Supreme Court against the verdict.
Speaking to ANI on the verdict, Kamal Maulana Welfare Society President Abdul Samad claimed that the opposition rushed to the apex court, anticipating a challenge.
"They fully anticipate that the Supreme Court will overturn this order; that is why they have rushed there in advance. However, their going there makes no difference, because this order is blatantly one-sided and runs contrary to the Constitution... While declaring this site a temple, the Court stated that all further arrangements should be handled by the government; however, nowhere in that order, not even remotely, is it written that the ASI or the Hindu side is permitted to conduct daily worship at the site. The ASI is acting in direct contravention of the established rules... Nowhere is it stated that the offering of Namaz should be discontinued", he said.
Earlier, A member of the Bhoj Utsav Samiti, Ashok Kumar Jain, on Saturday welcomed the Madhya Pradesh High Court verdict declaring the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex a temple, saying their "long-standing battle" had finally borne fruit and urged the Hindu community to come forward and offer prayers at the site.
"Our long-standing battle bore fruit today, and we call on the Hindu society to come and offer prayers," Jain said.
He alleged that restrictions were imposed on Hindu worship during the tenure of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh.
"We used to offer prayers here every Tuesday, but the Congress state government under Digvijay Singh put restrictions on us and allowed us only once a year on Basant Panchami, while giving the rights to offer Namaz to the Muslims," he said.
Jain further claimed that protests and Satyagraha movements were carried out over the issue.
"We protested and did Satyagraha, during which three of our workers died as well... Hindus were tortured here just the way they were tortured under the Mamata government... The workers did not back down, and finally, the government had to bow. Hindus were given the right to worship every Tuesday on April 8, 2003," he said.
Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday ruled that the religious character of the disputed Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex was that of Bhojshala, a temple dedicated to Goddess Vagdevi (Saraswati), dating back to the Bhoj-Parmar dynasty.
The court also partially set aside the Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) April 7, 2003 order, which had permitted the Muslim community to offer Namaz at the site on Fridays.
ASI lawyer Aviral Vikas Khare said the Bhojshala complex would continue to remain under the protection and supervision of the ASI.
Khare said, "The entire administration and regulation of this monument shall remain exclusively with the ASI."