KANPUR: Union Health Minister Makhan Lal Fotedar refused to comment on Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Raos assurance that the Babri Masjid would be rebuilt at Ayodhya and parried the question by saying “Ask the Prime Minister about this.”
Fotedar and the former Union Minister Mohsina Kidwai arrived here on Dec. 14 to take stock of the situation in this riot-torn city.
In an informal chat with the newsperson Fotedar strongly condemned the Ayodhya incident and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the bloodshed in the country following the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on Dec.6.
Describing the Ayodhya incident as an attack on the cultural heritage and secular character of the country Kidwai appealed to the members of both communities to remain calm and patient at this crucial juncture.
When a reporter asked about the plan to reconstruct the demolished mosque in Ayodhya Fotedar was visibly annoyed with the question asked the reporter to “ask the Prime Minister about it.”
He added “This is not appropriate time to raise such questions and we should work for the peace and normalcy in the country.”
Later the two Congress leaders visited the relief camps set up by the district administration to provide protection and succor to the evacuees of the riot-hit parts of the city.
Before leaving Fotedar and Kidwal visited the UHM and LLR hospitals and met the injured there.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1992
