NEW DELHI: The meeting of the Cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) which had been convened to put the stamp of approval on the compromise formula on Ayodhya worked out between the Prime Minister and five mahants ended in virtual disarray due to strong opposition from Arjun Singh and Sharad Pawar, it was Iearnt.

The Human Resources Development (HRD) and the Defence ministers warned their Cabinet colleagues that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would derive significant political mileage from the formula, according to which the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHF) and the Ram Janmabhoomi Nvas would be allowed to carry on with the construction of the Ram temple in the Ram Jatha park, close to the disputed structure and the 2.77 acres where the kar seva is currently going on,

According to Singh and Pawar the BJP would now be able to tell its cadre that it was carrying on with the construction of the temple “despite the best efforts of the Center,” while it would be able to defend itself in Parliament and similar forums, saying that it had upheld the Construction. The two ministers said the construction of the six-foot-high platform on the disputed 2.77 acres would be over by this weekend, so whatever the Supreme Court said on the matter would cease to have much significance.

The two ministers wanted the BJP propaganda on the Ayodhya issue to be countered by the Congress at the political level all over the country and especially in Uttar Pradesh. They felt it was the only way to let secular forces take the initiative.

That was when Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao voiced his doubts on whether the Congress machinery, especially in UP and other BJP-ruled states, was in a position to take on the BJP at the street level,

While most ministers supported Narasimha Rao and the steps he had taken to defuse the tension over Ayodhya, the Prime Minister said he did not want to force” any decision, and that if the CPPA could not reach a consensus, the matter must be decided by a larger body,

Article extracted from this publication >> Aug 7, 1992