The Hindu : It is not closing of all doors, says BJP

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 08, 2003

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National

It is not closing of all doors, says BJP

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 7. The Bharatiya Janata Party continues to be hopeful of a solution to the Ayodhya dispute despite the "rejection'' of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati's "formula'' by the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board. In fact, the talks were going on, it said.

The spokesperson, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, insisted that "talks are taking place and will continue'' since the BJP was "sincere in its desire to find a solution.'' Without commenting on the specific formula of the Kanchi Acharya, he said that "it was a positive effort in the right direction and we are still hopeful (of a solution).''

"The rejection of the formula by the AIMPLB cannot be construed as the "closing of all doors" on future negotiations. We continue to be hopeful. We do not view recent efforts (towards solving the problem) as having failed,'' he added.

Although recently party leaders, including those in Government, have ruled out ''legislation'' as a way to resolve the issue — they have pointed out that legislation was not an option for the National Democratic Alliance Government as this was not on the NDA agenda — Mr. Naqvi said that resolution of the dispute was possible through "negotiations, court or legislation.'' He indicated the BJP's preference for negotiations saying that this was the ''significant and important way (yahi mahatvapoorna rasta hai).''

Responding to the Congress charge that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had "not done enough homework" to make the Kanchi seer's negotiations successful, Mr. Naqvi said the allegation was "laughable''.

The Congress before making such comments should know that "several (national) problems, including Ayodhya, had been created by it.'' And now, "naturally'', it was "not interested in solving a problem it had created.''

Without naming any individual or organisation he said that "some people with a Taliban-like mentality'' responsible for continuing the impasse even as he insisted that talks were going on through contacts with individual people, some directly connected with the Ayodhya cases.

The party did not hold the AIMPLB responsible for the current effort yielding zero result, nor did he think that the pronouncements by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ahead of the AIMPLB meeting were to blame.

"Everyone has a right to say what he wants,'' the party added.

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