Congress leader to visit Ayodhya

Against the backdrop of Supreme Court judgement on Ayodhya temple issue, Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat will be visiting the site on November 29, making him the first leader from the party to do so.

On November 9, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to set up a Trust for construction of a Ram temple at the site which was disputed for decades. It also ordered allocation of 5 acre land at a prominent place elsewhere in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board for construction of a mosque.

"The nation has to move forward and we have to live in harmony. I will go and offer prayers to my deity Raja Ramchandraji on November 29. I will pray to Ramji that no dispute should arise in future," Rawat told IANS.

He said he will also be meeting Hindu seers and Muslim leaders, who have helped in maintaining harmony after the judgement.

"This is also a lesson for those who are creating trouble," Rawat said.

Earlier, some Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have visited Ayodhya but not gone up to the disputed site because the matter was sub-judice then.

After the SC judgement on November 9, the Congress had issued a statement after brainstorming at the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body.

"The Indian National Congress respects the verdict of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya case. We appeal to all the parties concerned and to all the communities to abide by the secular values and the spirit of fraternity enshrined in our Constitution and to maintain peace and harmony. It is the responsibility of each one of us to reaffirm our tradition of mutual respect and unity among all that has defined our society through the ages," the statement said.IANS