Demand for Ministers' resignations rejected

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, DEC. 6. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, today strongly defended the Ayodhya agitation for the construction of a Ram temple terming it an ``expression of nationalist feelings'' and said the ``task has remained unfinished''.

Mr. Vajpayee was talking to reporters informally after both the Houses of Parliament had been adjourned for the third consecutive day with the Opposition vociferously demanding resignations of Mr. L. K. Advani, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms. Uma Bharati, all Cabinet Ministers chargesheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

Speaking in Hindi he said: ``Ayodhya mein Ram mandir ka nirman ek rashtriya bhavna ka prakatikaran ka kaam tha, weh abhi poora nahin hua.'' (In Ayodhya the Ram temple construction project was the expression of nationalist feelings, the work has not yet been completed).

Opposition incensed

The Prime Minister's remarks immediately came under attack from the Opposition and even his allies, including the Telugu Desam, felt he should have avoided making such comments.

Mr. Vajpayee's remarks come even as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is preparing to announce at the `kumbh mela' next month a firm date to start construction of the temple. Significantly, the Prime Minister's statement - almost his first major defence of the Ayodhya agitation - follows a crucial dinner meeting with top RSS leaders at his residence last week where partymen feel the issue would have been discussed at length. The Home Minister, Mr. Advani, was also present. Also, at yesterday's parliamentary party meeting, BJP MPs were told to go on the offensive on the Ayodhya issue.

The Vajpayee cue was picked up immediately by the party general secretary, Mr. Pyarelal Khandelwal, who said: ``If this is what the Prime Minister has said, I welcome it.'' And separately, Swami Chinmayanand and Swami Aditya Nath, both BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh, demanded that the completion of the unfinished agenda through legislation to enable the building of a grand Ram temple at the disputed site without waiting for the court verdict. The party spokesperson, Mr. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, did not want to comment on the Prime Minister's remarks, but described the Opposition's stalling tactics today as a ``black day for democracy.''

Separately, in a statement from Jaipur, the party president, Mr. Bangaru Laxman, warned political parties not to politicise the Ayodhya issue or use it to brandish their ``secular credentials''. The BJP did not make any mistake and would not tender any apology on the issue, he added.

`A different case'

The Prime Minister also strongly defended his Ministers and said there was no basis for demanding their resignations. ``This case was different from others. The whole background of the Ayodhya agitation would have to be looked at.'' His view was that ``they were present at the site (on December 6, 1992, when the structure was demolished, but to associate them with pulling down the disputed structure was against established facts.''

Giving the ministers a certificate of innocence (although the trial is yet to take place and the matter is in the courts), Mr. Vajpayee said that ``they were trying to control the crowd. they were telling them they had gathered at the place to protest, not to pull down the structure.''

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