National
Crack down on Hindu fundamentalists: Mulayam
By Our Special Correspondent
LUCKNOW, JAN. 15. The Samajwadi Party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, has urged the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to emulate the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, in taking action against communal forces in the country. Gen. Musharraf had taken strong action against fundamentalist elements in Pakistan, he said, and demanded that the National Democratic Alliance-led Government in New Delhi take similar action against Hindu organisations, including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parisahd and RSS.
``The organisations of the Sangh Parivar are fomenting hatred against Muslims and they should be banned. The Government should have the courage to deal with them sternly. The Government's response is keenly awaited by the public,'' Mr. Yadav told a press meet here.
The Samajwadi Party leader argued that if action could be taken against madrassas in Pakistan, nothing prevented the Union Government from taking similar action against the educational institutions run by the RSS. These institutions were responsible for spreading the venom of communalism in society, he said.
Meanwhile,the Babri Masjid Action Committee is reported to have rejected an offer for talks to end the Ayodhya imbroglio over construction of the Ram temple. The officer in charge of the special Ayodhya cell in the Prime Minister's office, Shatrughan Singh, who visited Lucknow last weekend, established contact with some of the Muslim leaders who had remained in the forefront of the dispute on behalf of the minority community. Mr. Singh tried to explore the possibility of negotiations between the two parties.
However, reports said the proposal was rejected by the Muslim leaders. They insisted instead that the verdict of the Court in the Babri case be honoured. They also pleaded that the Government make efforts to speed up the hearing in the case.
It was pointed out on behalf of the minority leaders that the Muslim Personal Law Board had passed a resolution in 1990 rejecting any compromise on the land belonging to the Babri Masjid. They were bound by this resolution and could do nothing beyond honouring it, they added.
The Muslim leaders also took exception to the occasional outbursts of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders who had already issued a call to start construction of the Ram temple. If the Government was really interested in a negotiated settlement of the dispute, it should persuade the VHP to refrain from their aggressive attitude to create an atmosphere congenial for dialogue.
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