Former Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi litigant Iqbal Ansari has said that there is no benefit in reopening past disputes, responding to actress Swara Bhaskar’s recent remarks about the Supreme Court’s 2019 Ayodhya verdict.
Ansari said the Ram Janmabhoomi verdict was a judicial decision delivered by the Supreme Court and that people across the country had respected the ruling.
“The Ram Temple verdict was a court decision, and people across the country respected it. Not even a leaf was disturbed anywhere in the country,” Ansari said.
He urged people to avoid further discussion of the verdict, saying that the matter had already been decided by the court.
“If anyone says anything regarding the Ram Temple verdict, it should be avoided, because people across the country had respected the decision of the court,” he said.
Ansari said the Ram temple had since been built and devotees were visiting the site to offer prayers. He said reopening the issue would serve no useful purpose and expressed hope that Hindus and Muslims in Ayodhya would continue to live together peacefully.
“When all the people are coming and worshipping the deity, when there is no bias or discrimination… Raising an issue of the past can bring no good, because we are residents of Ayodhya. We want Hindus and Muslims of the region to live in peace together with communal harmony. Lord Ram was born there. Hindus should be able to worship the deity,” Ansari said.
Bhaskar’s remarks relate to the Supreme Court’s November 2019 judgment in the Ayodhya dispute. The court awarded the disputed site for the construction of a Ram temple and directed that five acres of alternative land be allotted for a mosque.
In a recent interview, Bhaskar recalled that she had been deeply upset by the verdict and felt it was unfair. She said she contacted Muslim friends and acquaintances, including actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, to express her feelings and apologise.
Her comments have since generated renewed public discussion around the 2019 judgment and her response to it.