March
8,
2003
Press
Statement
The
Polit
Bureau
of
the
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
has
issued
the
following
statement:
The
Lucknow
Bench
of
the
Allahabad
High
Court
has
ordered
excavation
of
the
site
where
the
Babri
Masjid
stood
at
Ayodhya
to
ascertain
whether
a
temple
had
existed
there.
Such
a
step
is
unwarranted
given
the
fact
that
the
Bench
is
hearing
the
title
deed
suit
regarding
the
ownership
of
the
land.
The
archaeological
excavation
in
an
area,
which
has
been
inhabited
for
two
thousand
years,
is
not
germane
to
the
case
being
heard.
It
will
not
be
possible
for
the
Archaeological
Survey
of
India
to
excavate
and
come
to
any
conclusions
relevant
to
the
title
deed
suit.
Neither
will
it
be
possible
to
ascertain
whether
there
was
originally
a
Ram
temple
in
an
area,
which
has
seen
hundreds
of
temples
being
constructed
over
the
centuries.
The
Lucknow
Bench
has
already
heard
all
the
parties
concerned
and
their
arguments
have
been
completed.
It
is
incomprehensible
why
at
this
juncture
an
order
to
dig
up
the
site
without
affecting
the
makeshift
temple
has
been
taken.
Such
a
judicial
step
is
also
fraught
with
serious
consequences
in
view
of
the
fact
that
the
Vishwa
Hindu
Parishad
and
the
RSS
maintain
that
there
are
thousands
of
mosques
which
were
actually
temples
earlier
and
demand
that
they
be
restored.
This
order
will
only
exacerbate
the
situation
with
the
sites
at
Mathura
and
Varanasi
being
targetted
with
demands
for
excavation.
The
Supreme
Court
in
1993
had
provided
the
correct
direction
by
rejecting
the
reference
made
by
the
Narasimha
Rao
government
to
go
into
specific
question
whether
a
temple
existed
at
the
site
where
the
Babri
Masjid
stood.
The
Polit
Bureau
of
the
CPI(M)
considers
the
right
course
would
be
for
the
High
Court
to
give
its
verdict
on
the
title
deed
suit
without
straying
into
matters
which
are
outside
the
bounds
of
the
judicial
process.