PM must withdraw remark: Mulayam

BHOPAL, DEC. 11 The Opposition will not allow the Parliament to function unless the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, withdraws his controversial remarks on Ayodhya, the Samajwadi Party chief, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav said today.

``Let him withdraw his statement first and make the Government's stand on the Ayodhya issue clear. These are the two pre- conditions to allow Parliament to function normally'', Mr. Yadav said after addressing a convention of his party workers. ``Mr. Vajpayee's remarks have created communal tension in several parts of the country'', he said.

Opposition party leaders will meet to decide on their future course of action.

Mr. Vajpayee's statement was made out of ``sheer fear'' after the BJP's debacle in the civic elections in U.P. and with an eye on the forthcoming Assembly elections.``However, it will not help the BJP in the elections.''

`Cong., BJP responsible'

The Congress and the BJP were equally responsible for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. ``In fact, there were some ways in which the Congress was more responsible than the BJP for the demolition of the mosque,'' he said.

The Babri Masjid could have been saved if the then Uttar Pradesh Government had been dismissed before December 6, 1992.

Third Front should not have BJP, Cong.

Mr. Yadav said the Congress was an ``associate of the BJP'' and the Third Front can become effective only if it included political parties which opposed them.

``We will welcome any political party into the Third Front only if it has the guts and courage to shed all connections with both the Congress and the BJP'', he said.

- PTI

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