The Hindu : Bring in legislation on Ayodhya or resign: VHP tells PM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2003

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Bring in legislation on Ayodhya or resign: VHP tells PM

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 8. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has once again demanded that the Government resolve the Ayodhya issue through legislation declaring that all of the Central Government-acquired land is to be used for a Ramjanmabhoomi temple or the Prime Minister should resign. It lashed out at Indian Muslims for "not wanting to live with Hindus".

"The head of Government must bring in legislation or he should resign from office (sarkar ke mukhiya kanoon layen ya gaddi choden)," the VHP leader, Giriraj Kishore, said at a press conference here today.

If this was not done, the VHP would launch a major countrywide agitation to achieve its aim of a grand temple in Ayodhya, he warned. Over a three-month period from July 13, VHP workers would contact people in two lakh villages to get them to take a pledge not to untie the `sankalp sutra' that would be given to them, until the temple construction began.

Asked whether the VHP wanted the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, as well, Mr. Kishore said: "We can speak only about the head of government. If someone cannot deliver he should leave." His view was that Mr. Advani may have taken the Ram temple movement forward at some point of time "but today he is not doing anything (for this)". Anyway, the VHP was only concerned about the head of government, that is, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

By rejecting the Ayodhya proposals of the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board had "thrown away an opportunity for Indian Muslims to earn the sympathy of Hindus", he said. It would seem, he said, that "Indian Muslims do not want to live (in peace with) Hindus".

The offer was that if Muslims voluntarily agreed to give up all claim to the land around the three temples at Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura, a good environment would have been created between the two communities. But that was lost on Sunday when the Muslim Law Board rejected the proposals.Finally, Mr. Kishore expounded the view that after 1947 the bitterness between the two communities may have decreased outwardly, "but inside the tension and mistrust had increased".

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