Thaindian News

Lucknow, Oct 1 (IANS) Maintenance of status quo at the disputed site in Ayodhya was the responsibility of the central government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said Friday, a day after the verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi issue.

“The central government would implement the high court order, and since the court had directed that status quo be maintained for three months it is the duty of the union government to ensure that,” Mayawati said at a press conference at her official residence here.

She said: “If there is any new activity at the disputed site during this period, then the central government would be held responsible.”

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court Thursday ruled that the spot in Ayodhya where a makeshift temple was built after razing the Babri mosque in 1992 was indeed where Hindu god Ram was born.

By a majority decision, the Lucknow bench of the high court also ruled that the land around the disputed site should be divided into three parts — one going to Hindus, another to Muslims and the third to Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious order and a litigant in the case.

Mayawati said it was the central government’s duty to maintain round-the-clock vigil in and around the area.

Appealing for peace, she said: “I wish to assure the people of the state in general and Muslims in particular, that they need not worry about safety and security; they will be secured and protected.”

She also appealed to people to “not get carried away by rumours”.