The BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh has welcomed the order of the Varanasi court upholding the maintainability of the pleas seeking the right to worship inside the Gyanvapi mosque and said that the decision should be respected by one and all. 

“The UP government welcomes and respects the court order. We are alert. We will maintain the rule of law in UP. No one will be allowed to break the law,” Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told The Indian Express. Other BJP leaders in the state also welcomed the order and asked all sides to exercise patience and restrict their arguments and/or facts to the hearing in court.

Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque case: Hindu women’s petition for worship maintainable, rules Varanasi court

Keshav Prasad Maurya, another Deputy CM of the state, however, reacted with a cryptic message following the Varanasi court verdict. Hinting at a larger message, Maurya took to Twitter and wrote: “Karvat leti Mathura, Kashi! (Varanasi and Mathura are churning).” The clear reference was to the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute that is also being heard in court. 

Maurya’s tweet with the Kashi-Mathura reference came minutes after he tweeted welcoming the court verdict. “Satyam Shivam Sundaram…. I welcome the order of the honourable court in the matter of Baba Vishwanath ji Maa Shringaar Gauri Mandir, everyone should respect the decision,” he wrote.

Also Read: Why look for Shiv Ling in every mosque? Mohan Bhagwat calls for consensus on Gyanvapi Mosque row

The “liberation” of Kashi and Mathura has been a frequent refrain of the right-wing, particularly the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, following the Ayodhya verdict. However, the central leadership of the BJP has maintained a studied silence on the issue, leaving it to the state unit to react on the matter.

Interestingly, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in his first comments on the Gyanvapi case, had said that there was no need to “look for a Shivling” in every mosque, and said that RSS was not in favour of launching any other movement on these issues.

“It is true that we have special, symbolic faith in such places, but one should not raise a new issue every day. Why escalate disputes? As to Gyanvapi, we have certain faith, some traditions, but why look for a Shiv Ling in every mosque?” the RSS chief had said on June 2.

On Monday, the Varanasi district and sessions court dismissed the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s challenge against the civil suits that questioned the Gyanvapi mosque’s title and the land surrounding it.

Five Hindu women had filed petitions seeking the right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri on the outer wall of the mosque complex located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Uttar Pradesh. 

The court upholding the maintainability of the pleas filed by the Hindu side means that the civil suits will be heard in detail and all evidence will be examined. The management committee of the mosque, which stands adjacent to the historic Kashi Vishwanath temple, had argued that the land is Waqf property.