The Hindu : Govt cannot be sacrificed for Bill on Ayodhya: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 10, 2003

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Govt cannot be sacrificed for Bill on Ayodhya: Advani

On Board Special Aircraft Aug. 9. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today made it clear to the Sangh Parivar that the National Democratic Alliance Government cannot be "sacrificed" for legislation for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, which has to wait for a political consensus.

"The Vishwa Hindu Parishad wants us to bring in such legislation which will definitely not get passed in Parliament. The Government will fall. It wants us to contest elections on this plank. We are not ready to sacrifice the Government," he told reporters accompanying him to Hyderabad.

Later in the day, Mr. Advani flagged off the Multi Modal Transport System train at a colourful function at Secunderabad railway station.

This is the first time that a senior BJP leader has been frank to say that the party was not in favour of sacrificing the coalition it heads at the Centre, which the VHP has been suggesting. Mr. Advani's remarks come significantly ahead of a meeting of the VHP's margdarshak mandal next month on the Ram temple issue.

Mr. Advani said: "We are not ready to bring in legislation to create a division... But a real solution lies in an agreement between the two communities and I am optimistic that it is going to come." He said the Government could bring in legislation "only in case of consensus not only within the NDA but also the Opposition".

Open voting in RS polls

The Deputy Prime Minister said that consultations were on in the Government regarding the modalities of "open" voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. "The modalities have not yet been cleared. I have held discussions with (Law Minister) Arun Jaitley and some others."

Among the suggestions made in this regard was that "every member of a State Assembly or Parliament will by law have a right to get certified copies of the vote cast by other members," he said adding that such a move would make it open vote instead of the present secret ballot.

`Tension has eased'

The tense relations with Pakistan had eased following increased people-to-people contacts, Mr. Advani said though he stressed that no change could be discerned in incidents of terrorism.

He said that the visit of the parliamentary delegation, which left for Pakistan today, would help improve ties between the two countries.

Temple not at his mercy: VHP

Reacting to Mr. Advani's statement, the VHP today said in New Delhi that the construction of the Ram temple was not at "his mercy" and that its agitation on the issue would intensify in the coming days.

The VHP leader, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, said: "We knew from the beginning that these people (BJP) will not like to leave the Government. We will decide on September 13 what kind of agitation we will launch."

"We don't need the sacrifice of any Government to construct the temple. Let him continue to govern, we will work for the construction of the temple," Mr. Kishore said. "The temple is not at his (Mr. Advani's) mercy. It would be built through the devotion and strength of the Hindu society," Mr. Kishore said on the sidelines of a condolence meeting for the late chief of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, Mahant Paramhamsa Ramchandra Das. — PTI, UNI

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