NEW DELHI: Contending that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, was necessary to protect the secular nature of Indian society, the Congress on Thursday moved the Supreme Court to oppose the petitions challenging certain provisions of the law.
Enacted by Parliament during the PV Narasimha Rao Government, the 1991 Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship, except the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, and freezes the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
Delhi BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay has challenged the constitutional validity of the Act. The Congress has joined other opposition parties, including Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM, CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and RJD MP Manoj Jha, in approaching the top court seeking implementation of the Act.