New Delhi: The building of Ram temple in the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya has triggered a 'me-too' focus on other key pilgrim centres in the country -- like Mathura and Varanasi -- and on its heels, has come the demand to repeal the Places Of Worship Act. A petition has already been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the law, which mandates the status quo of temples and mosques in the country as on Independence Day.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Harnath Singh has demanded the repeal of the Places Of Worship Act, 1991, claiming that it is a violation of rights equality and secularism granted by the Constitution.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Mr Singh said the law provided that except for the Ram Janambhoomi case, all cases related to religious places would be considered as terminated and those violating the law, may face punishment up to 3 years in jail.
The MP argued that the Places of Worship Act prohibits the legal scrutiny, which is a specialty of the constitution. The provisions of the law are against the rights of Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists, he contended.
"It is also damaging communal harmony in the country. Therefore, I urge the government to immediately repeal this law in the interest of the nation," the senior BJP leader said.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 maintains the religious status of any place of worship should stay the way it was on August 15, 1947. Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion of places of worship.
The Babri Masjid case -- pending since before Independence -- was the exception.
But after the Supreme Court order of November 2019, allowing a temple in the disputed area in Ayodhya, a petition was filed challenging the Constitutional validity of certain sections of the Places of Worship Act.
The petition has argued that the law takes away the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to restore their 'places of worship and pilgrimages' destroyed by invaders.
A case is already being heard in Uttar Pradesh on the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Masjid Idgah dispute.
Several petitions have been filed in Mathura courts over the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Eidgah issue. The petitioners have sought the removal of the Eidgah, claiming it was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
Similar is the case of the Gyanvapi mosque, where petitioners have received a nod from a local court to worship in the cellar. The petitioners claim the mosque was built on an existing temple. The case is now pending with the Allahabad High Court.