AYODHYA: A day after All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Zafaryab Jilani created a flutter by telling TOI that mosque to be built in Ayodhya is against Shariat and Waqf Act, chairman of Sunni Central Waqf Board Zufar Farooqui said, land for the proposed mosque at Dhannipur in Ayodhya was not exchanged. “The Waqf Board has paid stamp duty to the government and the land is the property of the board and not a ‘waqf’."
Farooqui, who is also president of Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, the trust constituted by Waqf Board to build mosque at Ayodhya, said, “The land allotted to Sunni Central Waqf Board at Dhannipur village of Ayodhya was not bartered as claimed by AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani. We paid stamp duty of Rs 9,29,400 to process this land."
“We did not demand this land. The Supreme Court on its own allotted it to Sunni Board. Thus, there is no question of exchanging land for Babri land,” Farooqui said, adding that “there is no shifting of then Babri Masjid as Babri premises was given to the Hindu party by Supreme Court order in November last year. Dhannipur land was given in ownership of Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board by the same SC order and it is not a waqf land."
“The court has not accepted Babri Masjid as waqf. Had the apex court accepted land as waqf, we would have won the case. Five acres given to Waqf Board is not in lieu of Babri Masjid. The land is given to us as restitution by the apex court. The land has been given to UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, which is a statutory body. The Waqf Board is not an individual and Waqf Board cannot create any waqf on its own. Only a believer of Islam can create waqf. The land was given to the Waqf Board and being a legal body it can acquire the property," said Farooqui.
"Apart from two properties of Waqf Board in Lucknow (two offices), this is the third property at Dhannipur and the Dhannipur property has been transferred to Ayodhya Mosque Trust," he added.
Meanwhile, Athar Hussain, secretary of Ayodhya Mosque Trust, reacting over the issue said “Jilani Sahab is a competent lawyer. If we are violating Central Waqf Act, why does he not challenge it in court. If he is not doing so, then he is simply spreading misinformation by saying it’s against Shariat."