Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid case: Character of Rahul Gandhi has been revealed, says Yogi Adityanath

The Supreme Court has deferred the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid case hearing for February 8, 2018.

File photo

Amreli: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday termed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's visit to temples as 'hypocrisy'.

He also said that the true character of the party was revealed the way one of its leaders pitched to extend the dates of the Ayodhya matter hearing.

"The character of Rahul Gandhi and Congress has once again been revealed in front of the people. On one hand, he is visiting all the temples in Gujarat and trying to misguide the Hindus and on the other hand another, a Congress leader is trying to extend the hearing date of the Ayodhya dispute hearing," Adityanath told ANI.

"This proves that his visit to temple is nothing else other than hypocrisy," he added.

This comes a day after Congress leader and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal asked the top court for a July 2019 date for the next hearing of the long-standing Ayodhya matter, citing political ramifications owing to the general elections in 2019.

Meanwhile, UP Sunni Waqf Board, a party to the case, said it was against such a move and wanted the matter to be disposed of "promptly".

Sibal, an eminent lawyer, also came under stinging attack from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on the campaign trail in Gujarat on Wednesday, for his attempt to link the legal tangle to the next general elections, wondering if such an issue should be kept unresolved for political gains and losses.

Under attack, Sibal claimed he did not represent the Sunni Waqf Board in the Ayodhya case in the Supreme Court, and mounted a counteroffensive against Modi, saying he should have checked the facts before criticising him.

The Waqf Board said it wanted speedy justice in the case and was not in favour of deferment. It said it had not issued any instruction to Sibal to seek shifting of hearing till after the general elections.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday rejected the submission of the Sunni Waqf Board and some other Muslim organisations party to the case that the hearing of appeals in the sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute be conducted in July 2019 after the general elections and fixed February 8 to hear them.

In the order, Sibal's name featured as a lawyer for the UP Sunni Waqf Board. 

(With ANI and PTI inputs)