Mecca holy site for Muslims, not Ayodhya: Uma Bharti
New Delhi: Declaring Ayodhya a “historic” place for the Hindus, Union Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday claimed that the disputed area cannot be a religious place for Muslims as they consider Mecca to be their holy land.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Supreme Court order that hearing for the Ayodhya title suit will begin from October 29, the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh claimed that the dispute over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid area was never “religious” in nature but was turned into one.
“This isn’t a matter of religious dispute, as Ayodhya is an important religious place for the Hindus because it is the birthplace of Lord Ram. For Muslims, it isn’t a religious place; for them, it is Mecca just like it is the Vatican City for the Christians. This matter was created (turned into a religious one) and later, it finally got transformed into a land dispute,” she said.
The minister also suggested settling the dispute over the piece of land outside court. “These days, every issue is dragged to the court. This case can be settled out of the court,” she said.
Welcoming the court order to begin the case hearing from next month, she said, “It is an important day for me and I welcome the Supreme Court decision on Ayodhya. I hope for a verdict soon.”
Bharti, besides veteran BJP leaders MM Joshi and LK Advani, are facing criminal conspiracy charges in the Babri Masjid demolition.
Courtesy: indianexpress.com
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
