The Hindu : Court is the final authority, says PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 17, 2002

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Court is the final authority, says PM
By Javed M Ansari

NEW DELHI, MARCH 16. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, said in the Lok Sabha today that the ``shilas'' (stone slabs) accepted from the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) would be used only if the Supreme Court verdict in the title suit went in favour of Hindus. ``The court is the final authority,'' he said.

The Prime Minister's remarks came during a reply to a discussion on the Attorney-General's submissions on the ``shila daan'' before the Supreme Court on March 13. The BJP's allies, such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Trinamool Congress and the Samata Party, feared the AG's submissions that the ``shila daan'' ceremony could be conducted at the undisputed site was ``at the behest of the Government and would encourage the VHP''.

Mr. Vajpayee said the Supreme Court order had been ``upheld and implemented, the status quo remained'' and the ``shila'' was in safe custody. He did not accept the VHP's claim that `shila daan' was ``recognition in principle'' of temple construction in the disputed site by the Government. He clarified that he had given no assurance to the VHP on any date of commencement of temple construction.

The Government was committed to upholding the Supreme Court order and would ensure its implementation. Also, the matter could be brought before a larger bench of the Court, but till that happened the March 13 decision would be implemented.

`Steps to expedite court process'

Earlier, replying to the motion of thanks to the President's address which was adopted by the Lok Sabha today, the Prime Minister said his Government would take steps to expedite the court process. At the same time, efforts would be made to

find a negotiated settlement and the issue should not be allowed to ``become a festering wound''.

(PTI, UNI report that Mr. Vajpayee said that by receiving the `Ram shila' in Ayodhya, the Government had, not only succeeded in abiding by the Constitutional obligations, but also respected people's sentiments. The Government had followed the rule of law strictly and at the same time, respected the sentiments of people. Even the sadhus had praised the Government and gave us their blessings in conducting the entire process in a very smooth way.'')

In contrast to Friday's sharp and focussed speech of the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Vajpayee's short reply lacked bite. He was, by and large, conciliatory and used his wit to get at the Opposition and tried to win over agitated women members by promising to introduce a new law on reservation of seats in legislatures, if all political parties agreed to a reduced quota. He ruled out resumption of negotiations with Pakistan till it ended cross-border terrorism.

Mr. Vajpayee was self-congratulatory on the Ayodhya issue. He said, ``We have shown strictness where it was necessary and have been flexible where needed.'' Even at the cost of annoying his own MPs, he had not hesitated to arrest or bar them from going to Ayodhya.

On Gujarat, Mr. Vajpayee skirted the Opposition's demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and focussed on the need to give priority to relief and rehabilitation in the communally-ravaged State.

``The problem started from Godhra, but what followed can never be justified.''

Chides Congress members

Urging members to observe restraint while referring to the developments in Gujarat, Mr. Vajpayee chided the Congress leader, Jaipal Reddy, for using words which few people understood.

``This is not a time to flaunt one's vocabulary,'' he said. There were no broadsides, however, against Ms. Gandhi. He was mildly critical of her for describing the Gujarat developments as a ``genocide'' and said that he did not know how much there was in seeking blessings from ``sants'', provoking laughter in the House.

``But when I saw a photograph of Ms. Gandhi seeking the blessings from a Sankaracharya, I thought I should not be left out, '' he said in reference to his interaction with a religious leader from Ayodhya.

Mr. Vajpayee admitted that the relations with Pakistan were tense, and said there was little room for improvement as long as Islamabad continued to support cross-border terrorism.

The international community had supported India's stand against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. He praised the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Sushma Swaraj, for presenting India's case with great aplomb at the SAARC conference in Islamabad.

He expressed the hope that the change of government in Sri Lanka would help pave the way for a peaceful solution and bring relief and justice to all ethnic groups in the country.

Referring to the economy, especially the Opposition's queries on privatisation of profit-making PSUs, he said it was wrong to say that it was being done to make up for the shortfall in the Government's earnings.

Mr. Vajpayee said the sale of PSUs was part of a package and it was incorrect to say that only profit-making units were being sold. ``Reforms may be unpopular at the moment, but people will eventually accept it.''

While the BJP and its allies supported the motion, the Left parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal(S) opposed it. The JD(U) was critical of the Government for straying from the NDA agenda on Ayodhya.

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