January 28, 2002	Monday	Ziqa’ad 13, 1422

NEW DELHI, Jan 27: Fundamentalist Hindu leaders on Sunday met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to demand that the government hand over a disputed piece of land in Ayodhya where they had demolished a mosque in 1992, to build a temple.

The fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World Hindu Council) ruled out putting off the date of construction of the temple to Hindu god Rama, at the site in Ayodhya town where the 16th century Babri Mosque was demolished on Dec 6, 1992.

Hindu groups claim that the mosque was located at the site where Rama was born. The demolition triggered riots all over India in which hundreds of people were killed.

VHP General Secretary Praveenbhai Togadia said there was no question of putting off the date of construction of the temple which was scheduled to begin on March 12.

VHP and other organizations have organized a march from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi, to pressure the government to accept its demands.—dpa