The Hindu : Temple will come up at Ayodhya: PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 02, 2003

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Temple will come up at Ayodhya: PM

AYODHYA AUG. 1. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today pledged that a Ram temple would be built at "Ram Janamsthan" (birthplace) here as a fitting tribute to the late Ramchandradas Paramhans.

Addressing the public at Gau Ghat here, where the late Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas chairman was cremated, Mr. Vajpayee said there was no hurdle in the way of construction of the Ram temple and the long-cherished dream of the Paramhans could not be ignored for long.

He, however, hoped that better sense would prevail over the opponents of the temple, who would "rise above petty politics to pave the way for construction of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya." Referring to the stance of the Paramhans of building a consensus over the temple issue and his striving for an amicable solution, the Prime Minister said he had sought the seer's blessings before embarking on his recent foreign visit.

Mr. Vajpayee said the `mahant' always wanted him to visit the temple town, but unfortunately he could come only after the seer left for his heavenly abode.The Prime Minister, who shared the views of Mr. Advani on the temple issue, said it was not mere rhetoric in front of the funeral pyre, but he would strive towards the cause the `mahant' lived for.

Mr. Vajpayee, who is visiting the temple town after two decades, was emotional during his speech. "Good sense would prevail upon even those who are opposing it and, together, we will fulfil his dream. We feel confident in front of his funeral pyre,'' he said. "Everyone will have to make efforts for the Mahant's `last' wish to come true.''

Earlier, in his address, Mr. Advani said: "Nobody would be able to stop fulfilment of the Mahant's dream for the temple. It would be definitely fulfilled.''

Disappointing: Cong.

In New Delhi, the Congress today said that Mr. Vajpayee's observations on construction of the Ram temple were ``disappointing'' and contrary to his earlier statements.

The Prime Minister had always maintained that the Ayodhya tangle could be resolved only through dialogue or through a court verdict, the Congress spokesman, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, said.

UNI, PTI

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