No immediate relief granted on Gyanvapi management's plea against Hindu prayers in mosque cellar
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Friday did not give any immediate relief to the Gyanvapi Masjid committee which had challenged the order of the Varanasi court allowing Hindu prayers in a cellar of the mosque.
The court will now hear the matter on February 6.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the committee, which looks after the affairs of the mosque.
The Anzuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had moved the high court within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear their plea against the Varanasi district court's order and asking them to approach the high court.
The Varanasi court had ruled on Wednesday that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque.
Appearing on behalf of the committee, advocate S F A Naqvi submitted before the court that the order was passed in a "very hurried manner" and on the day of retirement of the judge concerned.
Varanasi district judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha retired from service on January 31.
Naqvi further submitted that while passing the impugned order, district judges had not considered their documents.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side, pointed out that the district court by means of order dated January 17 had appointed District Magistrate, Varanasi receiver of the property in pursuance of which he took possession of the same on January 24.
He argued that the order passed on January 31 is only a consequential order. Order dated January 17 has not been challenged, thus the appeal is not maintainable.
On this, Naqvi said he has to move an amendment application challenging the order dated January 17 also.
According to the order, the Advocate General has undertaken that that district administration of Varanasi will maintain law and order in pursuance of the order dated January 31.
Jain also submitted that by permitting puja, no harm has been caused to the other side because in the past, puja was going on which was stopped in December 1993.
In the appeal filed before the court, Board of Trustees Sri Kashi Vishwanath Temple as well as Shailendra Kumar Pathak, Head priest Acharya Ved Vyas Peeth Temple Complex have been made respondents.
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BJP slams Cong over internal quota for SCs, alleges injustice done to several communities
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday attacked the Congress government over its decision on internal reservation for Scheduled Castes, alleging injustice to several communities and questioning the intent behind the revised quota formula.
Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MP Govind Karjol criticised the government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, accusing it of delay, dilution of quota, and lack of commitment to social justice.
The Cabinet on Friday cleared a revised internal reservation formula for Scheduled Castes within the overall 15 per cent quota, paving the way for long-pending government recruitment.
The Cabinet approved 5.25 per cent reservation each for the "right-hand groups" and "left-hand groups", and about 4.5 per cent for other Scheduled Castes, including nomadic communities.
"The Congress government in Karnataka, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has committed a historic betrayal and stabbed the Scheduled Castes in the back," Vijayendra said.
In a post on 'X', the Shikaripura MLA alleged that the government had delayed the distribution of reservation among Scheduled Castes for nearly two-and-a-half years despite a Supreme Court order, before classifying them into A, B and C categories in a Cabinet decision.
He said the previous BJP government had increased reservation from 15 per cent to 17 per cent, but the present dispensation had reduced allocations.
"The quota for Category 'A' has been reduced from 6 per cent to 5.25 per cent and for Category 'B' from 5.5 per cent to 5.25 per cent, thereby causing grave injustice," he said, adding that allocations meant for several communities had been merged into Category 'C' and reduced to 4.5 per cent.
"Instead of the justifiable 5.5 per cent, the quota has been reduced to 4.5 per cent- amounting to a betrayal of these communities as well," he said.
He further claimed that despite there being no stay order, the state government had filed an affidavit agreeing to reduce reservation from 17 per cent to 15 per cent.
"As a result, the Scheduled Caste reservation has been brought down from 17 per cent to 15 per cent," he said.
Alleging inaction on employment, Vijayendra said the government had wasted two-and-a-half years of valuable time in the name of internal reservation despite lakhs of vacancies, and termed the recent recruitment assurance as misleading.
He added that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar will pay a price for the alleged injustice.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Karjol questioned the internal reservation mechanism adopted by the Cabinet.
The former Deputy Chief Minister said the Justice H N Nagamohan Das committee had recommended 17 per cent internal reservation and the government had reduced it to 15 per cent.
He questioned whether repeated assertions on social justice and equitable distribution were mere rhetoric, and accused the chief minister of misleading the public to retain power.
Terming the decision "arbitrary justice", Karjol said, "There were the Sadashivayya report, the Justice H N Nagamohan Das report, and even the Cabinet sub-committee report under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. There was also a Supreme Court order. Ignoring all of these, the government has delivered arbitrary justice."
He maintained that the previous BJP government had increased reservation scientifically to 17 per cent based on a report by then Law Minister J C Madhuswamy, and alleged that, despite promises made in 2013 and after returning to power in 2023, Siddaramaiah had failed to implement internal reservation.
Accusing the chief minister of attempting to create divisions among SC sub-castes and pushing the issue into courts, Karjol urged him to stop this deception.
