The Hindu : VHP's U-turn: we will abide by court verdict

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 08, 2002

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VHP's U-turn: we will abide by court verdict
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 7. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today did a volte-face on the issue whether or not it would accept the court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute. Whereas yesterday its vice-president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, had publicly denied having given any assurance to the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, today its leader, Ashok Singhal, admitted that the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas had indeed given such a written undertaking.

At a press conference this evening, Mr. Singhal, international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and managing trustee of the Nyas, disowned Acharya Kishore's remarks and accepted that on February 27 he had submitted that ``whichever party wins in the court of law, it will be given the disputed place and the necessary amount of adjacent land for use.''

The volte-face came about after both the Prime Minister and the Sankaracharya of Kanchi let it be known to the VHP leadership that they had not taken kindly to Acharya Kishore's ``denial''; and, consequently, there was a flurry of activity to set the record straight. While the Kanchi Acharya summoned Mr. Singhal and other VHP functionaries, the RSS leadership is also believed to have got into the act. The latter apparently told the VHP that if ``we pretend we are not law- abiding citizens and not a law-abiding organisation, our claim and credibility would disappear.''

With the public acknowledgment by Mr. Singhal, the Prime Minister-Sankaracharya initiated dialogue process seems to be back on the rails, though there is the realisation that Acharya Kishore's remarks have created mistrust and suspicion about the VHP's motives. The Prime Minister sent an emissary this evening with a bouquet of flowers and good wishes to Maulana Mujhaidul Islam Qasmi, president of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board, who has been hospitalised for the last four days.

At the press conference, Mr. Singhal tried to sound rather conciliatory and reasonable. Asked about the VHP's reluctance to change the Ram mandir architectural plan, he said the plan could be altered only in consultation with the architect. However, he pointed out that even in the existing plan there was provision for a ``link route'' on the ``west side'' (for a masjid).

Asked if he was prepared to re-locate the sanctum sanctorum (should the court give an `adverse' verdict), Mr. Singhal was somewhat philosophical: Hai to hai, nahi hai to nahi hai (if it is there, it is there; if it is not there, it is not there). However, those associated with the dialogue attribute the VHP's reluctance to change the plan (which shows the disputed site, where the Babri Masjid stood, as the sanctum sanctorum) in terms of an apprehension that any change would weaken its legal argument. But Mr. Singhal wanted it to be understood that should the court give an `adverse' judgment, Muslims would be provided access to the site in good faith.

Mr. Singhal, however, was insistent that the controversy over the 43-acre area of the undisputed/acquired land was a matter to be sorted out between the Government (the ``receiver'') and the Trust. According to him, the Government could and should return this piece of land to the Trust so that ``the 100-day purnahuti yagna'' could proceed as per schedule. It is believed that the Government is looking closely at the 1993 Supreme Court verdict and is seeking legal opinion whether this 43-acre of land could be given back to the Trust. However, sources insist that any movement forward would have to be in dialogue with the leadership and mutually acceptable ``legal modalities'' would have to be worked out before transfer of undisputed land could take place.

VHP has no role: Kanchi Acharya

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, MARCH 7. The Kanchi Sankaracharya, Jayendra Saraswati, has ruled out any role for the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the on-going process to resolve the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

In an informal chat with the mediapersons here during his visit to Gujarat in the wake of the outbreak of violence, he said the decisions of the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas would be final and that the VHP had no role to play in the dispute.

The Kanchi Acharya said the Nyas had given a written assurance that it would abide by the court verdict over the disputed land and that should be treated as final. ``Do not believe in whatever the VHP has to say on it. The real people who matter in this are those who belong to the Nyas,'' he said. He said puja would be performed in the undisputed land as scheduled on March 15.

The Nyas, he said, in its written assurance had agreed to maintain the status quo over the disputed land and wait till the Supreme Court gave its verdict.

The Sankaracharya, who visited some of the riot-affected areas and the relief camps as well as the civil hospital to call on the riot victims, said he felt hurt over the violence in the State and appealed to the people to maintain peace and communal harmony.

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