'The country belongs to everyone': Sharad Pawar demands trust for mosque in Ayodhya

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday demanded the Central government to form a trust for building a mosque in Ayodhya similar to the one meant to oversee the construction of Ram temple. Speaking at an event in Lucknow, Pawar said that the "country belongs to everyone" and if trust can be formed for a temple then why can't for a mosque.

'The country belongs to everyone'

Pawar said, "You can form a trust for a temple then why can't you set up a trust for the mosque. The country belongs to everyone". A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had in November ruled unanimously in favour of Ram Lalla. It said that the entire disputed land spread over 2.7-acre will be handed over to a trust formed by the government, which will monitor the construction of Ram temple at the site.

KK Sharma, the state chief of the NCP, said Pawar was in support of the temple. “He made it clear that he has nothing against the temple but he said just as trust has been set up for temple, funds could be provided for mosque construction too by setting up another trust,” Sharma said.

PM announced formation of trust in Parliament

The court had asked the government to give 5-acre land to Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya. On February 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirath Kshetra', which would oversee the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, nearly three months after the Supreme Court ruling in the decades-old case. 

In the first meeting of the ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust on Wednesday, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and Champat Rai were elected as the President and General Secretary respectively. However, the appointment that has garnered the most buzz is that of Nripendra Misra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s former Principal Secretary. He will head the Ram temple construction committee.

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As Misra was considered as the PM’s most trusted lieutenant, this move is being perceived as the PM’s attempt to personally ensure that the construction of the Ram temple goes smoothly.  The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has seven members, five nominated members and three trustees.

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Senior lawyer Parasaran was named as the head of the Trust and its other members include Jagatguru Shankracharya, Jyothishpeethadheeshwar Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj from Allahabad, Jagatguru Madhavacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannatheerth Ji Maharaj, Pejawar Math in Udupi, Yugpurush Paramanand Ji Maharaj from Haridwar, Swami Govinddev Giri Ji Maharaj from Pune and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra from Ayodhya.

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(With agency inputs)