Uma Bharti Undeterred By Babri Case, ‘Ready To Go To Gallows’

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Uma Bharti on Saturday sounded defiant on the outcome of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, saying "it does not matter" to her what the judgement will be.

"I was called by the court for my statement and I have told the court what was true. It does not matter to me what the judgement will be. If I am sent to the gallows, I will be blessed. The place where I was born will be happy," Uma Bharti said, according to an ndtv.com report. Earlier this month, the once firebrand leader of the BJP had appeared before a special CBI court in Lucknow.

Uma Bharti, along with LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are among the BJP leaders accused in the case of conspiracy to bring down the masjid in Ayodhya.

BJP’s veteran leader L K Advani (92) appeared before the court through video conference on Saturday while Murli Manohar Joshi used the same virtual mode to record his statement before the court on Thursday.

Last year, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the 2.77 acre land claimed by both Hindus and Muslims would be handed over to a government-run trust for the construction of a temple. The apex court had also given away a five-acre plot at another site in Ayodhya for Muslims.

The CBI court has been asked to conduct daily hearings to complete the trial and deliver its verdict by August 31.

As per the report, Uma Bharti came down heavily on NCP chief Sharad Pawar who criticised the grand groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. He commented, "some people might think that corona will go away after a temple is built".

"There is no connection in the two things. An entire system, of doctors and health workers, are fighting Covid. And an unrelated set will build the temple... I see a different meaning in Mr Pawar's statements... Some people are concerned that all this is happening without too much fuss. I want to ask Pawarji to sing 'Shri Ram Jai Ram' when Modiji is in Ayodhya," Uma Bharti said.

"Give me 5,000 lives versus this one day (August 5). I will choose this one day. It is not important whether I am there or not. It is a non-issue for me. What is important is that Modiji will be there and will lay the foundation stone. It is important for Modiji to be there," she said.

The groundbreaking ceremony or "bhoomi poojan" for the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be held on August 5 inside the Ram Janmabhoomi complex. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of VVIPs have been invited for the ceremony.