india

Updated: Nov 07, 2019 17:13 IST

The Union Home Ministry has asked all states, in particular Uttar Pradesh, to ramp up security in light of the Supreme Court judgment on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri masjid land dispute. The court is expected to pronounce the final verdict soon.

As a precautionary measure, about 40 companies of paramilitary forces have been sent to Uttar Pradesh to strengthen the state police.

The Union Home Ministry has asked all states to ensure that law and order is tightened to prevent a flare up, a ministry spokesperson said. “This is a routine exercise to alert states” in advance and ensure adequate preparation, he added.

On Wednesday, PM Modi told his council of ministers and top government functionaries that peace and harmony should prevail in the country after the Ayodhya verdict is delivered by the Supreme Court.

Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have appealed for peace.

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Arshad Madani said though he believed the Babri Masjid was a mosque as per Islamic laws, the community was willing to accept the apex Court’s decision.

“We did not take to streets but chose to fight a legal battle…we are waiting for the SC verdict. We think it will be in our favour. But we have said it a thousand times that the country, law and SC is ours. We will accept the verdict,” the senior Jamait leader said.

The Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 by Hindu right wing groups who want to build a temple at the spot.

A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi is expected to pronounce its verdict on the disputed 2.77 acres of land in Ayodya title suit any day now. The daily hearings in the matter were completed on October 16.

The bench is considering petitions against a 2010 Allahabad high court judgment that ordered the disputed land be divided equally between the Nirmohi Akhada, a Hindu denomination, the Sunni Central Waqf Board and representatives of Ram Lalla, the child deity.