Congress: Ex-CJI opened Pandora's box on Places of Worship Act

NEW DELHI: Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 is in the news these days because of certain oral observations made in 2022 by then Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud that have since opened a "Pandora's box".

On May 20, 2022, the top court had made oral observations while hearing a dispute involving the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi saying that the PoW Act does not bar ascertaining the religious character of a structure as on August 15, 1947.

In his post on X, Ramesh said, "On September 12, 1991, the Rajya Sabha debated the Bill that subsequently became the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. This is in the news very much these days because of oral observations made by the just-retired Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on May 20, 2022 that has since opened a Pandora's Box."

"On the occasion of this Parliamentary debate, perhaps one of the greatest speeches in the Rajya Sabha's history was made by the distinguished author Rajmohan Gandhi who was then Janata Dal MP representing UP," he added.

Read also: Chandrachud should have drawn the line, not a fault line

"It was a masterclass in Indian culture, traditions, history, and politics as well. His brilliant speech, with that lovely excerpt from the Mahabharata, has continuing relevance," the Congress functionary said.

Ramesh also shared screenshots of Gandhi's speech with his post. In the speech, Gandhi is quoted as having said that "those who have opposed this Bill have spoken about what they call necessary to right the wrongs of history". "The ringing lesson of the Mahabharata down the centuries is 'those who seek to right the wrongs of history with an attitude of revenge will only produce destruction and more destruction and more destruction'," Gandhi had said

Ramesh's remarks come a day after the Congress Working Committee, in the wake of the Sambhal and Ajmer shrine disputes, resolved to proactively support the Places of Worship Act, as it accused BJP of compromising the law as part of a strategy to keep the polarisation simmering. The law bars conversion of any religious place after Independence.