HYDERABAD: Referring to the recent controversy surrounding the Places of Worship Act, 1991, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government must provide a clear answer on its commitment to defend and implement constitutional laws.
Speaking in the winter session of Parliament, Owaisi also demanded the government to file a reprieve regarding the same in the Supreme Court. “As many as 12 egregious cases have been filed against mosques and dargahs to ‘convert or change their character’ in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. I demand the government to execute the laws made by Parliament as its non-enforcement is a violation of parliamentary sovereignty," the AIMIM supremo asserted.
He stated that the Places of Worship Act is an essential feature of the Constitution and the country’s values. “The Places of Worship Act, 1991, imposes a non-derogable obligation towards enforcing a commitment to secularism under the Constitution of India.
The law is hence a legislative instrument designed to protect secular features of the Constitution, which is its basic feature. Non-derogation is a foundational feature of fundamental constitutional principles of which secularism is a core component. The Places of Worship Act is thus a legislative intervention which preserves non-derogation as an essential feature of our secular values.”
He further pointed out that historical laws cannot be remediated by people taking law in their own hands while citing the Ayodhaya verdict judgement. “In preserving the character of the Places of Worship Act, Parliament has mandated that in no uncertain terms, history and its wrongs shall not be used as instruments of present and future. This was said in the 7th Judge Constitutional Bench in judgement of Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir.”
Owaisi also said that the government should not take back to the country in the era of 1980s and 90s, which he said was a very dark period in history of the country.