Ayodhya Development Authority gives final nod to construction of Dhannipur mosque
Ayodhya (UP) (PTI): The Ayodhya Development Authority has given the final clearance for the construction of Dhannipur mosque here as mandated by the Supreme Court in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi verdict.
A mosque, a hospital, a research institute, a community kitchen and a library are to be constructed by the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) trust on five acres of land given by the Uttar Pradesh government. The construction was delayed for over two years due to pending clearance and matter of change of land use by the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA).
"We have approved the project of Ayodhya mosque in the board meeting held on Friday. The sanctioned maps will be handed over to the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) after few departmental formalities which are to be completed within a couple of days," Gaurav Dayal, Ayodhya Divisional Commissioner, told PTI.
IICF secretary Athar Hussain said the trust will soon hold a meeting after all the clearances are made and finalise the plan for the construction of the mosque.
"We laid the foundation of the mosque on January 26, 2021. We chose that day
because on this day, India's Constitution came into effect more than seven decades ago," he said.
"The Dhannipur mosque will be bigger than Babri Masjid. It will not be modelled on the structure which once stood in Ayodhya," Hussain told PTI.
In a historic judgment on November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the construction of a Ram temple at a disputed site in Ayodhya and asked the government to allocate five acres of land for the construction of the mosque at a prominent place in the district.
The IICF trust, constituted for the construction of the mosque, announced its plans to build a hospital, a community kitchen, a library and a research institute, along with the mosque.
Hussain said the upcoming hospital will serve humanity in the true spirit of Islam as taught by the Prophet 1,400 years ago.
"The hospital won't be the usual concrete structure, but will be in sync with the architecture of the mosque, replete with calligraphy and Islamic symbols," he said.
"While the hospital will treat the sick and infirm, the community kitchen will feed the hungry, blurring barriers of religion, caste and creed. The green belt at the site will create awareness on climate change and the research institute will study the contribution of Muslims in the freedom struggle and the legacy of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood which helped India attain independence," the IICF secretary added.
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BJP MLAs storm Speaker’s chamber over conduct in Karnataka Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec 12: Tensions flared in the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday as BJP MLAs barged into Speaker U T Khader’s chamber, expressing strong objections to his handling of the proceedings. The confrontation came amidst heated debates over the recent police lathi charge on Panchamasali Lingayat protesters, with the ruling Congress and opposition BJP trading accusations.
The issue arose when Congress MLA Vijayanand Kashappanavar, himself a leader of the Panchamasali Lingayat community, criticized the decision of previous BJP government to scrap the 4 per cent Muslim reservation and reallocate it equally between the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.
He alleged that the BJP government, under Basavaraj Bommai, had backtracked on its decision by assuring the Supreme Court it would not implement the reservation changes.
“For the sake of elections, they announced reservations, but later told the Supreme Court they wouldn’t go ahead with it,” Kashappanavar said.
BJP members objected, insisting that the discussion focus solely on the police action during Tuesday’s protests near Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, where the Panchamasali Lingayat community demanded inclusion in the 2A category of the OBC reservation matrix (15%), as opposed to the current 3B category (5%).
The protests turned violent earlier this week, with stone pelting from demonstrators and subsequent lathi charges by police.
During the Assembly debate, Kashappanavar accused the BJP of misleading the community and the Panchamasali seer, alleging that the protest was “sponsored and instigated” by the party.
He also claimed RSS members were involved in the stone pelting, sparking a heated exchange between BJP and Congress MLAs.
The saffron party members demanded that references to the RSS be expunged from the record.
The situation escalated when Speaker Khader allowed Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda to speak after Home Minister G. Parameshwara had already addressed the lathi charge issue. BJP MLAs argued that their voices should have been heard first.
Gowda criticized the saffron party, blaming its past policies for the "injustice" faced by the Panchamasali Lingayat community, citing the BJP's affidavit to the Supreme Court on reservation issues.
Angered by Gowda’s statement, BJP MLA Sunil Kumar raised a point of order, questioning why the Minister was permitted to speak.
The Speaker dismissed the objection, prompting BJP members to raise slogans and tear papers in protest.
Amid the chaos, Khader adjourned the House for lunch.
Following the adjournment, furious BJP leaders, including Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, state BJP chief B Y Vijayendra, and MLAs C N Ashwath Narayan and Sunil Kumar, marched into the Speaker’s chamber and reportedly questioned Khader’s conduct and warned of a boycott.
“We have told the Speaker his conduct is unacceptable. If this continues, we will not attend the session,” Ashoka said.
The Assembly resumed after lunch following negotiations in the Speaker’s chamber.
