"If DY Chandrachud...": A Owaisi Criticises Ex Chief Justice Amid Ajmer Row

Amid the row over a Rajasthan court admitting a petition that claims that the Ajmer Sharif dargah was built over a Shiva temple, AIMIM leader and MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said the dargah goes back 800 years and asked, "Where will this stop?"

"That Dargah goes back 800 years, during the reign of Alauddin Khalji; it's mentioned in Amir Khusro's book from the 13th century and 800 years later, you are saying it's not a dargah. What will remain?" he said in a press conference.

Mr Owaisi said an official delegation from two neighbouring countries visits the dargah annually, and every Prime Minister sends a chadar there. "Where will this stop? If tomorrow, people from Jain and Buddhist communities go to court claiming that some places are their religious sites, what will happen?" he asked.

Right-wing outfit Hindu Sena has filed the petition linked to the dargah. While admitting it, the Ajmer court has sought responses from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Dargah committee and the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs.

"What will the Narendra Modi government respond, they send chadars too. Narendra Modi has sent 10 chadars in 10 years. How will he respond? BJP-RSS must stop this. This is not in the country's response," he said.

In a witty wordplay, the AIMIM leader said we should now forget about AI and talk only about ASI. "Don't talk about artificial intelligence; just keep doing ASI, ASI, and just keep digging."

He said structures hundreds of years old can also be found under the house of a BJP leader in Delhi. "This is how a civilisation progresses, this is weakening India. There are other issues, unemployment, price rise, farmer deaths and China getting stronger. But you are stuck with this," Mr Owaisi said.

The AIMIM leader said that he had warned after the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi judgment that such issues would crop up. "If DY Chandrachud stopped this, it would have been the end of the chapter. He made wrong oral observations. So at 15 places, such attempts are being made now."

The AIMIM leader was referring to the former Chief Justice of India's observations during a hearing on the Gyanvapi case. Justice Chandrachud then said that the 1991 Places of Worship Act does not bar ascertaining the religious character of a place. "The Act says you can't alter or convert the nature of the place. They're not seeking conversion of the place. The question is what is the status of the place as of August 15, 1947."

The 1991 Places of Worship Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. 

"People say what is the problem with ascertaining. Is this an academic exercise? You want to change it," Mr Owaisi said.