We must forget the Babri episode and move ahead: Shiv Sena

Welcoming the verdict of the special CBI court acquitting 32 persons in the Babri demolition case, the Shiv Sena said it is time that we forget the episode.

“I, my party, Shiv Sena, and my party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray welcome the verdict,” Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation for the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

“It is time we forget the episode and move ahead,” he said.

The incident that happened 28 years ago changed the course of Indian politics, the journalist-politician said.

“We congratulate Advani ji, Murli Manohar ji, Uma Bharti-ji and the people who have been acquitted in the case," he said.

Raut, the Executive Editor of Saamana which is the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, said that the CBI court has also said that the demolition was not pre-planned.

"The verdict saying demolition wasn't a conspiracy and a result of circumstances was the expected judgment. We must forget that episode. If the Babri Masjid wasn't demolished we wouldn't have seen any bhoomipoojan for Ram Mandir," said Raut, adding that the case had lost significance after last November's Supreme Court verdict ordering the construction of a Ram temple at the site and the bhoomipoojan by Modi.