Headlines
Provide all facilities to Ayodhya pilgrims, says SC
New Delhi, Aug 7
The Supreme Court on Friday
asked the central and Uttar Pradesh governments to make available
whatever facilities that could be extended to pilgrims going to Ayodhya
to offer prayers at the makeshift Ramlala temple on the disputed Babri
Masjid-Rama Janmabhoomi site.
A bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and
Justice Kurian Joseph asked both governments to do whatever was
necessary even as Uttar Pradesh government said that all the facilities
were being made available to the pilgrims and none of them were
aggrieved.
"The prayer is for some facilities. If you can make
these available, then do it. If possible to do something, do it,"
Justice Dave told the counsel representing the governments.
In
response, Uttar Pradesh Advocate General V.B. Singh said: "We have seen
everything. No one pilgrim is aggrieved. Only the petitioner (BJP leader
Subramanian Swamy) is aggrieved."
Swamy told the court that he
was seeking the upkeep of the place and some facilities for the
pilgrims. He also informed the court that he was asked by it to prepare a
list of facilities that are needed by the pilgrims going to Ayodhya.
The
Bharatiya Janata Party leader had sought the court's intervention
saying that thousands of pilgrims going to Ayodhya were not being
provided with basic amenities and facilities like drinking water,
toilets, cloak rooms and bathing facilities even though they make
payment and there was a huge corpus of money.
The court has been
told that pilgrims were walking four km holding their foot wear in their
hands to have the 'darshan' of the deity and had sought the relaxation
of "overzealous oppressive restrictions".
Swamy has also sought
the enforcement of "each and every" February 23, 1996 direction of the
Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court which includes arrangements for
proper parking of the vehicles and free movement of the pilgrims till
they reach the pathway leading directly to the improvised platform where
the idol is installed.