7 July 2003

BJP CLAIMS AYODHYA TALKS STILL ON

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party on Monday asked the Congress to play a constructive role on the Ayodhya dispute, treating it as an important national issue in view of the sentiments of the people for construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, however, wriggled out when asked if his party wants the Congress support to bring a legislation in coming Parliament session to resolve the dispute as being demanded by RSS and VHP. He said the legislation is certainly one of the three options "but today we have no majority in Parliament to make the law."

Asked how can Congress support construction of the Ram Temple as it would go against the mandate it got from the voters by opposing the move, Naqvi shot back that the Congress also did not have mandate to bring a legislation to negate the Shah Bano judgment of the Supreme Court.

Asserting that the talks for a negotiated settlement of the dispute have not failed as claimed by the Congress, Naqvi asserted that the BJP was optimistic of efforts still continuing as the rejection of the Kanchi Shankaracharya's Ayodhya formula by the Muslim Law Board has not closed the doors of talks.

Braving a volley of questions at the Press briefing at the BJP headquarters here on his claim that the talks were still on, Naqvi said there was no reason for the talks to be held behind the curtains and the BJP was optimistic since the efforts were progressing "definitely in right direction."

"It is not important at what levels the talks were being held. It is only important that talks are continuing or else there would have been no rejection of the (Shankaracharya) formula if there were no talks," Naqvi sheepishly sought to explain.

Yet another issue on which he had to do lot of explaining was his remarks that efforts to resolve the dispute through talks were being sabotaged by those suffering from "Talibani maansikta" (Taliban mentality).

Was he accusing the Muslim Law Board that rejected the Shankaracharya formula? Naqvi repeatedly affirmed that he was not naming any organisation and only referring to the mentality that looks negatively towards the efforts to find a solution to the vexed problem. Certain persons suffer from this mentality, he said without elaborating.

Making it clear that the BJP was not involved in these efforts nor taking any initiatives, he said: "We only want the earliest solution and that we want that Ram Temple should be built in Ayodhya at the earliest and this can be done through talks."

Asked if in BJP's view the only solution is the Ram Temple at the demolished Babri Mosque site, Naqvi shot back: "I don't think even any Muslim organsation has opposed construction of the temple."

He also declined to comment on the Shankaracharya's various letters to the Muslim Law Board except to state that his initiatives were definitely positive and in right direction.

Blasting the Congress for quickly jumping to conclusion that rejection of the Shankaracharya formula by the board meant a faolure of all efforts to resolve the dispute, Naqvi said the Congress should not forget that the Ayodhya issue was one of the many legacies that the Congress has left behind for the government to resolve.

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