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An Ajmer court's decision to hear a petition claiming the presence of a Shiva temple under the Ajmer dargah, has sparked intense political debate, coming as it does after similar claims over mosques and dargahs in Mathura, Varanasi and Dhar. Amid intense criticism of Opposition leaders -- who pointed out that days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent a chador to the Ajmer dargah -- leaders of the BJP have claimed a decision to check out the presence of temples under such disputed structures is fair.
"A court has ordered survey in Ajmer. What is the problem if court has ordered a survey?" said Union minister Giriraj Singh. "This is a truth that when Mughals came to India, they demolished our temples. The Congress government has only done appeasement till now. If (Jawaharlal) Nehru would have stopped it in 1947 itself, there would have been no need to approach the court today," he added.
At the heart of the argument is a law made in 1991, that maintains that barring Ayodhya, status quo as on August 15, 1947, will have to be maintained at religious structures across the country.
But in 2023, the Supreme Court had allowed a survey at Varanasi's Gyanvapi Mosque, with then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud arguing that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 does not debar ascertainment of the religious character of a place of worship.
This was pointed out by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti.
Claiming that the violence at Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, was the direct result of this judgment, Ms Mufti said, "Thanks to a former Chief Justice of India a Pandora's box has been opened sparking a contentious debate about minority religious places".
"Despite a Supreme Court ruling that the status quo should be maintained as it existed in 1947, his judgement has paved the way for surveys of these sites potentially leading to increased tension between Hindus and Muslims," the PDP chief added, citing the top court's remarks when a bench had decided that a Ram temple can be built in Ayodhya. Justice Chandrachud was part of the bench that gave this order and made the remark upholding the 1991 Places of Worship Act.
"These things are very painful. Some people have their cool after 2024 (Lok Sabha) election results as they didn't get the majority. These people want to target a particular community to please the majority," said Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi.
"Worrisome. The latest claim: Shiv Temple at Ajmer Dargah. Where are we taking this country? And why? For political dividends!" Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said in a post on X.
"Yet another shocker... supposedly hidden somewhere in the Ajmer Dargah Sharif," added People's Conference president Sajad Gani Lone.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the if the 1991 Places of Worship Act is followed, the country will be run according to the constitution.
Bhim Army chief Chadrashekhar Azad questioned how petitions like this are being filed every day, contending that they are "detracting attention from real issues".
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint from Persia, had made Ajmer his home and a shrine in his honour was built by Mughal emperor Humayun. His grandson, emperor Akbar, made a pilgrimage to Ajmer every year. Akbar and his grandson Shah Jahan had built mosques inside the Ajmer shrine complex.
The current petition on Ajmer dargah has sought that Hindus be given the right to worship at the Ajmer shrine. The petitioner Vishnu Gupta, chief of right-wing group Hindu Sena, said they want the dargah to be declared as Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple.
"If the dargah has any kind of registration, then it should be cancelled. Its survey should be done through ASI and Hindus should be given the right to worship there," he was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.