NEW DELHI: The banned Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Jan.8 declared it would challenge the legal validity of the Ordinance on the Ayodhya issue and oppose the formation of trusts to build a mosque and a temple there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also a part of the extended Sangh Parivar, said it would seck legal opinion once the details of the acquisition were made available. Descnbing the Government’s acquisition as a Step “in the nght direction,” the BJP Vice President Sundar Singh Bhandari told newspersons that his party questioned its approach.
The Government’s moves include acquisition of 67.703 acres in and around the Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid complex, creation of trusts for construction of temple and mosque and reference of the disputcd site to the Supreme Courtunder Article 143 of the Constitution to give opinion on whether a temple or a Hindu structure existed there carlier.
Bhandari said the BJP rejected the idea of Government trusts and moves to construct a mosque m the acquired area or in the panchkosi parkramawhich involves a circumference of about 10 kms of land arca around the disputed site.
Bhandan demanded the Goyemment hand over the area to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas for construction of temple.
“The Ram Janambhoomi mandir is a people’s project, launched by the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas, a trust of all recognized Hindu religious orders. The Governmenthas no ght to snatch this sacred scheme from a religious trust and hand it over to a sarkan tus. Any such move will be an act of uttcr bad faith,” a statement issued by Bhandari after an officebearers meeting said.
Descnbing the Govermment’s “whole approach” as “partisan, petty and perverse,” the BJPlcader maintained that any effort by the Government to build the temple there would not be accepicd by the people of India.
Bhandari also mentioned that the Government should take the sadhus into confidence. “If the sadhus are satisfied, we have no objection.”
In effect, the BJP adopted a dual approach. While declaring that “this arrangementis notacceptable tO us,” it also tned to play on the impression that the Government appeared to be proceeding in their direction.
“Gradually the Government which announced that a masjid would be built at the site of the demolished structure has started saying that a masjid will be constructedin Ayodhya. Wealso have no objection to a masjid in Ayodhya,” Bhandari said, adding that it should be in a Muslim locality.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 15, 1993
