Prasad was speaking at the Constitution Day celebration held at Supreme Court. His comments gain significance in the backdrop of the recent judgement in Ayodhya title dispute where the apex court ruled in the favour of the Hindu side.
The Law Minister, citing the apex court judgement on Ayodhya, said, "Right to faith is also a fundamental right." He also emphasized how successfully the top court adjudicated the competing claims of two faiths.
The apex court had observed that both faiths coexisted at the same site, as Hindus offered prayers to the central dome and Muslim offered namaz at the same site.
He pointed out the apex court judgement highlights that the court has noted the assimilation of traditions in India, which is truly its heritage. Recently, a few parties on the Muslim side have expressed their willingness to challenge the apex court judgement on Ayodhya, where the court allocated five acre for the purpose of construction of mosque in Ayodhya.
According to the Hindu side, the Babri Masjid was built after destroying a temple dedicated to Lord Ram, and its remains were used in the construction of the mosque. According to the ASI report, the underlying structure, on the disputed site, was non-Islamic. The apex court observed that the ASI could not establish that a temple dedicated to Lord Ram was destroyed to build a mosque, and also rejected the Muslim side argument that mosque was built on a vacant land.
The apex court criticised the demolition of the mosque and the desecration of the mosque was placing idols under the central dome. But, it identified that Muslim side could not establish exclusive possession on the site. Instead, Hindus side was able to establish continuous worship at the dispute site.
(Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@.in)
( With inputs from IANS )