Haryana minister Anil Vij on Tuesday took a dig at the Supreme Court for turning down demands for early hearings in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute when it could hear a late-night plea to delay the hanging of Mumbai attacks convict Yakub Memon.
“Supreme Court mahan hai (The Supreme Court is great). If it (SC) so wishes it can open its doors on 29 July, 2014 for an appeal to delay the death sentence awarded to 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon. And if it wants, it can give a date on the issue of Ram Mandir, for which crores of Indians are eagerly waiting. The Supreme Court is great,” Vij said in a tweet in Hindi.
सुप्रीम कोर्ट महान है चाहे तो 29 जुलाई 2014 को 1993 मुंबई बम धमाकों के दोषी याक़ूब मेनन की फांसी की सज़ा टालने के लिए कोर्ट का दरवाजा रात को खोल दे और चाहे तो राम मंदिर जिसके लिए करोड़ों भारतवासी टकटकी लगाए इन्तजार कर रहे हों उसको तारीख दे दे – सुप्रीम कोर्ट महान है ।
— ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) October 30, 2018
The Yakub Memon hearing was actually during the pre-dawn hours of 30 July 2015.
Speaking to reporters in Ambala, the health minister made a similar comment.
“The court is great. It can stay awake till midnight to hear the Yakub Memon case and it can extend the hearing of the Ram Janmabhoomi title case for three months, while crores of Indians wait for it,” Vij said.
He said people from every corner of the country wanted the Union government to bring an ordinance so that the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya can begin at the earliest.
This is however not the first time that Vij has made a controversial comment or tweet. He had earlier compared Congress chief Rahul Gandhi to the deadly Nipah virus. He has also warned people not to enter Haryana if they couldn’t live without beef.
On Monday, the Supreme Court turned down requests for early hearings in the Ayodhya title dispute and said it will decide the schedule in the first week of January.