'Prime Minister knew of temple entry'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 20. The Ayodhya issue today figured in the Rajya Sabha with the Opposition led by the Congress urging the Government to prevent construction by the VHP at the disputed site even as the CPI(M) accused the Prime Minister of `complicity' in VHP leaders' entry at the makeshift temple last month.

Raising the issue during zero hour, Mr. Suresh Pachouri (Cong.) and Ms. Sarla Maheshwari (CPI-M) urged the Government to direct the Uttar Pradesh Government to issue fresh notification in the Ayodhya demolition case including the names of the three Union Ministers, Mr. L.K. Advani, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms. Uma Bharti.

He said the Supreme Court had issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the CBI on the matter. It was shameful that except the filing a First Information Report, the State Government had not taken any action against the VHP leaders who forced their way into the makeshift temple last month, he added.

There were mild protests from the BJP members, including Mr. T. N. Chaturvedi, Mr. S.S. Ahluwalia, Mr. B.P. Singhal and Mr. Kirpal Parmar, but the Chairman, Mr. Krishan Kant ruled that nothing except what the Congress leader said would go on record. The matter was set to rest after the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. O. Rajagopal, said the Government would be only too willing to respond once the Business Advisory Committee took a decision on it. The House is scheduled to take it up through a calling attention tomorrow.

The CPI(M) Parliamentary Party leader, Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, said the VHP leaders' forcible entry was with the ``complicity of the Prime Minister''. He said the incident occurred days after Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee made a statement at Lucknow that the Ayodhya tangle would be sorted out by March 2002.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chatterjee referred to the statement of the RSS chief, Mr. K.S. Sudarshan and the Sangh Parivar call to the majority community to take up arms. He said it was a ``clear attempt to introduce communal divide'', with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh elections.

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