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Advani's assurance on Ram temple fails to satisfy Opposition in Lok Sabha

The Opposition walked out of the Lok Sabha amid noisy scenes today in the absence of what it called a satisfactory assurance from Home Minister L K Advani that a Ram temple would not be allowed to be built at the disputed site at Ayodhya.

Advani's categorical assurance, that as part of the government and as in-charge of home ministry he would scrupulously see to it that no court order was flouted by anyone, failed to satisfy the Opposition, as the Ayodhya issue rocked the Lok Sabha for the second day today.

The Opposition, led by Somnath Chatterjee (CPI-M), Rajesh Pilot (Congress), Ram Vilas Paswan (Janata Dal) and a host of other members launched their onslaught as soon as question hour was over, and cited reports in a weekly to say that pre-fabricated material was being prepared in different cities and a temple could be constructed in Ayodhya within no time. They wanted the home minister to categorically state that the construction of the temple would not be allowed.

During the prevailing bedlam, the home minister remarked that some people think that by creating tension in the country they could create their vote-banks. This added fuel to the fire and the protests became more vociferous.

The Opposition dubbed the home minister's repeated assurance that as far as the BJP-led government was concerned, court orders would be scrupulously adhered to, as an ambivalent answer to deliberately mislead the House and the people.

Opposition members also resorted to slogan-shouting amid repeated announcements by Speaker G M C Balayogi that nothing would go on the record.

Advani's announcement that he was even prepared for a full debate on the issue in the House did not pacify the Opposition as P Shiv Shankar (Congress) maintained that the home minister had not replied to what had been reported in the magazine and not stated categorically that the temple would not be allowed to be constructed.

Advani, while admitting that the Ayodhya issue figured in the BJP's manifesto, said it had been deleted when the national agenda for governance was prepared for the present government. He said the government would be solely guided by the national agenda.

The home minister also scoffed at the charge that the Ayodhya issue was on the hidden agenda of the government, saying there was no hidden agenda and if there was anything, it was the nuclear deterrent and nothing else.

Advani asserted that this government was limited to the national agenda of governance.

Pilot, who was the first to raise the matter, said the hidden agenda of the Bharatiya Janata Party had come out in the form of the 'Ayodhya bomb', and a reputed magazine quoting Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal had reported that the Ram temple would be ready within two years.

Pilot also said that 175,000 cubic feet of pre-fabricated material was needed and 40,000 cubic feet had already been prepared.

The government should take the nation into confidence, he said.

Somnath Chatterjee said what had been reported by a responsible journal called for immediate intervention by the government.

The CPI-M leader pointed out that a religious leader, Mahant Nrityagopal Das, had gone on record to say that "Ram will not wait for the BJP.''

Pointing out that the same political personality (Kalyan Singh) was at the helm of affairs in Uttar Pradesh when the status quo was disturbed in Ayodhya, the CPI-M member called for a categorical reply from the home minister.

He wanted the home minister to categorically state that nothing like what had been reported would be done or was proposed to be done.

Paswan charged the government with trying to employ diversionary tactics by conducting nuclear tests and raking up the Ram Mandir issue.

''We are opposed to both,'' he said. Attempts to draw political mileage would be opposed at all levels, while national interest would not be sacrificed at any cost, the former railway minister said.

M A A Fatmi (Rashtriya Janata Dal) expressed concern at reports that the temple could be constructed within a matter of hours. He said if the conspiracy was not defeated his party would have to take to the streets.

He wanted the government to give an assurance that the pre-cast components would be seized and the reported bid to construct the temple foiled.

Advani said the concern about the site at Ayodhya was understandable. He also noted that it was a matter of concern all over the country.

UNI

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