SC verdict on Ayodhya should be accepted by all: Congress
New Delhi, Sep 27 : The Congress on Thursday said the party has always maintained that all sides should accept a Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid issue and the government should take all steps to implement it.
"Congress has always been of the opinion that whatever verdict is given by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, it should be accepted by all sides," Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
She was responding to questions about the Supreme Court judgement on Thursday that rejected a plea for referring the issue to a larger constitution bench and referred the case to a three-judge bench to be set up that will begin hearing from October 29.
Chaturvedi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to "befool" people on the issue of Ram temple construction for the past 30 years.
She said that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was in power from 1999 till 2004 and the Modi government has been in power at the Centre since 2014, but the party is concerned only about garnering votes.
"They remember Lord Rama six months before the elections to garner votes and forget Him afterwards. This duplicity is the real face of BJP," she said.
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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.
