Hindu saints and an Indian Muslim plaintiff slammed Pakistan for its comments on the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
The case pitted Muslims against Hindus but was settled by the Supreme Court of India in November, 2019 and both sides have accepted the verdict.
The Pakistan foreign office issued a statement on Wednesday criticising the construction of a temple at Ayodhya and said: “While world is grappling with unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, RSS-BJP combine in India is busy unabashedly advancing the “Hindutva” agenda.
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) May 27, 2020
The saints in Ayodhya have slammed Pakistan's comments and asked India’s federal government to respond to the statement officially.
Acharya Satyendra Das, chief priest of the Ram temple, said, "We are constructing our temple in our land after the Supreme Court verdict and Pakistan has no authority to question the timing."
Mahant Shashikant Das, another religious leader said, “...we are free to construct or renovate our temples and in this case, the Supreme Court has allowed us to construct the temple. Pakistan has no business to interfere in our matters."
Iqbal Ansari, one of the plaintiffs in the land dispute case said, Pakistan should stop playing politics on the issue and trying to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims. “It is our internal matter and we know how to deal with it,” he said.
The case flared up following the 1992 demolition of a disputed Babri Masjid by Hindus zealots, who claimed that the Mughal emperor Babar had built the house of worship after demolishing a Hindu temple.
The Supreme Court had also asked the government to set up a trust to manage the land handed over to Hindus and allot another plot of land for the Muslims to construct a place of worship in Ayodhya.
