Date:07/07/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/07/07/stories/2003070704321100.htm

National

BJP sees `healthy' developments in Ayodhya dispute

By S. Vijay Kumar

Kanyakumari July 6. The Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati's efforts to resolve the Ayodhya dispute had brought about some "healthy" developments, the BJP national secretary, L. Ganesan, has said. "For the first time, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board leaders have declared that they would consider any proposal with an open mind. The seer should try to convince both sides and arrive at an amicable solution," he told presspersons here today.

"Unfortunately, the Muslims are also divided like the Hindus on the issue. The efforts of the Kanchi Sankaracharya are his own and the Government has no role to play," he said, adding that the BJP was only keen on expediting the court cases in order to find an early solution.

The question of declaring India a `Hindu Rashtra' did not arise because it was already one, Mr. Ganesan said. While the concept of `Hindu Rashtra' was culture-centric, `Hindu rule' was religion-oriented. "For that matter, India was never a theocratic state", he said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation's charge that the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, the Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, and the VHP president, Ashok Singhal, had "instigated" the `kar sevaks' to demolish the Babri Masjid in 1992 was baseless, he said. Slogans such as "Ram lala hum aye hain, Mandir wahin banayenge" were raised even before the mosque was brought down. "The demolition was a spontaneous outbreak and there is evidence to prove that these leaders (who have been accused) tried to prevent it," he added.