NEW DELHI: Ruling national front Friday hardened its stand on the controversial Ram temple Babri Masjid issue declaring that the structures at Ayodhya would be protected at all costs and there would be no compromise “come what may.”
The 105minute meeting of the front presidium here on Oct 12 endorsed the government’s decision to strictly comply with the Allahabad high court’s interim order that the structures on the disputed site be protected.
Mulayam’s ultimatum
LUCKNOW: The UP Chief Minister, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav set on Friday a deadline of five days for central leaders to defuse the confrontation building up in his state over the Mandir issue. Otherwise he would be forced to act on basis of people’s mandate which he had received and would not like to be blamed if the National Front govt collapsed in Delhi.
This ultimatum was served on the central leaders by Mr Yadav at a mammoth rally against communalism on the sprawling La Matiniere ground in the presence of Mr Chandra Shekhar, Mr Jyoti Basu, Mr Ajit Singh, Mr Unni Krishnan, Mr Indrajit Gupta, Mr Harkishan. Surjeet, Mr Janeshwar Misra and others.
The rally was the culmination and also the climax of the company which Yadav launched in association with the Left parties from August 25 last addressing most of the 48 anticommunal rallies in different parts of the state.
It was the biggest ever rally held in Lucknow which had undergone a unique experience of rumour mills working overtime during the past 24 hours resulting in panic, self-impressed curfew and self called bandh as rallyists started converging on the state capital. Advani too firm The BJP president, Mr L.K. Advani, has ruled out calling off his rath yatra to Ayodhya, saying that it had helped build national unity and integration and ease tensions.
Addressing a press conference soon after entering the capital from Haryana, Mr Advani said the yatra would continue despite threats and appeals by various parties.
Mr Advani said that he was particularly happy that the prophets of doom who had predicted the Rath Yatra would spark off widespread violence were proved totally wrong.
“In fact it pained me when reference to the yatra was made along with the phrase of violence. I ask, has any violence taken place in the states through which it had passed”, he said.
He maintained that his Rath Yatra had resulted in causing the tension. And if there were any tensions prior to the yatra that was due to pseudo secularism preached by all parties, Mr Advani said. Accusing the politicians of pandering to vote banks and not abiding by the concept of secularism as conceived by the founding fathers of the constitution, Mr Advani said if the politicians had faced the case of Ram JanambhoomiBabri Mazjid in the proper manner, there would not have been any tension. He said the capitulation of Congress (I) govt in the Shah Banu case had encouraged the formation of Babri Masjid Action Committee in 1986 and led to opposition of the temple construction. Briefing newsmen, the Front spokesman S. Jaipal Reddy, said that there would be no compromise on the Ayodhya Temple issue “come what may”. The only course open was either an amicable settlement or the concerned parties abiding by the court judgement, Reddy said adding “there is no in between”.
The presidium also felt that while evolving a solution, the views and sentiments of the people of Ayodhya should be ascertained and accommodated.
The meeting, presided over by N.T. Rama Rao, was attended among others by Prime Minister V.P. Singh and ruling Janata Dal president S.R. Bommai.
The presidium expressed grave concern over the communal tension that has gripped the country following revival of the controversy of ‘the RamjanambhoomiBabri Masjid’ issue.
It welcomed the resolution adopted at the meeting of the national integration council held at Madrasa and the principled approach of the prime minister towards this issue,
The resolution adopted by the presidium felt that all out efforts should be made to bring about an amicable settlement of the vexed problem.
It appealed to both the communities to exert a restraining influence on the people so that the communal atmosphere was not further vitiated.
Federal minister of state for home affairs Subodh Kant Sahay, who was a special invitee to the presidium meeting, apprised the members of the govt’s efforts to defuse the tension,
Replying to a question, Reddy said that ‘the Rathyatra’ (Chariot march to Ayodhya for the construction of temple there) of BJP president L K Advani figured during the meeting. He, however, declined to give details about it.
“Our stand is clear and it diverges fundamentally from that of the BJP,” Reddy remarked. Asked if the national front govt had given any directive to the govt of Uttar Pradesh on ‘the Rathyatra’, Reddy said “Mulayam Singh Yadav (chief minister) is aware of the stand of the govt as well as the Janata Dal.”
The meeting was attended by the chief ministers of several Indian states and information broadcasting minister Upendra, law and justice minister Dinesh Goswami and S.Jaipal Reddy.
Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Eastern state of Bihar, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad did not attend the meeting, Reddy said.
A disputed construction at Ayodhya claimed to be a temple and more significantly birth place of Hindu deity Ram by Hindus and a Mosque by Muslims has created the hottest controversy since1947.
A section of Hindu organisations supported by right wing party BJP is determined tomakea temple at the site of the present construction on Oct 31, The Indian govt has, however, appealed to all the parties involved in the issue to maintain restraint and wait for the pending court decision on it,
BJP along with the left front parties support the minority govt of prime minister V P Singh.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 19, 1990
