The Hindu : VHP backtracks after Govt. expresses annoyance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 13, 2003

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VHP backtracks after Govt. expresses annoyance

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI FEB. 12. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today backtracked on support for a United States-led war on Iraq and on its demand that the entire piece of acquired land in Ayodhya, including the disputed area, be handed over to the VHP-controlled Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas after the Government expressed its annoyance.

The Government let the VHP know that it did not appreciate the latter's statement on a foreign policy issue. Nor did it welcome statements that could only widen the Ayodhya dispute, instead of creating a climate in which the stay on religious and other activities in most of the acquired land could be vacated by the Supreme Court.

The Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, today spoke to the VHP leaders, including Ashok Singhal and Giriraj Kishore. "I told the VHP leaders that we must make all possible effort to narrow down issues of conflict (on Ayodhya). The Central Government is sincerely trying to amicably resolve the issue of undisputed land,'' he said later.

In the context of a statement by the VHP international general secretary, Pravin Togadia, on Tuesday, demanding that the Government hand over to the VHP trust all the 67 acres of acquired land in Ayodhya, Dr. Joshi said that the present effort through an application in the Supreme Court was to get the stay vacated so that the "surplus'' land, outside the disputed 2.3 acres, could be given back to the trust. "Statements which are not in the interest of the present initiative should be avoided and the area of conflict should not be widened.''

The general view was that hard and harsh statements by the VHP at this juncture certainly did not help create the atmosphere in which it will be possible for the court to vacate the stay. But then, Mr. Togadia gave the impression yesterday that he was not interested in a resolution of the conflict but wanted a head-on confrontation with the Government and Muslim organisations so that the VHP could go on to launch its "peoples' agitation'' to demand that Muslims return to the Hindus 30,000 sites where mosques stand today.

On Iraq, Dr. Joshi said that the Government's stand was clear, it had been endorsed by the entire country and the "VHP leaders have informed me that they have not taken any stand on the issue.''

Earlier, Mr. Kishore addressed a press conference to say that the VHP did not take a stand on foreign policy matters which are the concern of the Government and that what Mr. Togadia said were "his own views as an individual.'' And Acharya Kishore said that his "own personal view'' was that "the United states is not interested in fighting terrorism, it wants to capture Iraq's oil wealth using terrorism as an excuse.''

"The United States is telling other nations to respect and implement resolutions of the United Nations or face action, and at the same time it is openly stating that even if the U.N. were to oppose an attack against Iraq, it would go ahead on its own. That is a contradictory stand,'' he said.

On the Ram temple issue, the "final decision'' would be taken by the `sants' at the `dharam sansad' on February 23. ``Of course, the `sants' could demand that all of the 67 acres in Ayodhya be handed over to the Nyas.''

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