BJP's Dilip Ghosh dared Mamata Banerjee's party to clear its stand on the Ayodhya verdict
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Saturday maintained silence on the Ayodhya verdict even as major parties of the state - the BJP, CPI(M) and the Congress came out with their reactions.
Not a single leader of the ruling TMC, including party supremo Mamata Banerjee, put out a reaction on the judgement till 5 pm.
The situation across the state post the verdict is peaceful and calm and no untoward incident has been reported from any part, the police said.
According to sources in the TMC, there has been "strict instruction" from the party top brass asking its leaders not to "utter a single word" on the judgement.
"We have been asked not to speak on this issue. Only our party supremo Mamata Banerjee will speak on it if needed. Or it will be by someone assigned by her," a senior TMC leader told PTI on condition of anonymity.
TMC's silence on the historic verdict by the Supreme Court, backing the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site, drew sharp reactions from the BJP and Congress.
The BJP state president Dilip Ghosh dared the TMC to take a stand on the issue.
"Whenever there is an issue concerning national security, the TMC leadership either goes silent or takes a stand which is completely against the interests of the nation and society. This time too the same thing has happened," he said.
"I ask them (TMC) to come out clean on whether they support it (the judgement) or are opposed to it. I am sure they won't be able to answer my question," Mr Ghosh said.
The TMC is always ahead of others in commenting on issues it does not understand, a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity and added "Why is it (TMC) not making any comment now?"
A section of the saffron camp claimed that TMC is in "a fix" over coming out with a reaction as it is in a "dilemma on whether to welcome the Supreme Court verdict as we did or oppose it as some Muslims leaders did".
West Bengal Congress President Somen Mitra advised TMC to stop beating around the bush and make its stand clear like the other mainstream political parties.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar appealed to the people to maintain communal harmony.
"I am happy that the honourable Supreme Court has decided an issue that was engaging the attention of the whole country. The judgement should not be viewed as victory or defeat for anyone. It should be wholeheartedly accepted and worked upon," Mr Dhankhar told the media.
Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the top court on Saturday in a historic verdict backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot be found for a mosque in the holy town.