NEW DELHI, March 11: Taking a leaf from the battle of Mahabharat, when Krishna had advised Arjuna not to fear taking on his own family members if his dharma commanded so, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee assured parliament on Monday that he would not allow Hindu militants from his own flock to violate the law in Ayodhya on March 15, if they tried to offer mass prayers near a razed mosque without the court’s approval.
The Supreme Court is expected to state on Wednesday if the prayers demanded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad can be held at a site near the demolished Babri mosque that was taken over by the government shortly after the VHP led a mob to destroy the 16th century monument in December 1992.
Muslim groups, who have opposed the prayer or bhumi pooja move, say the matter is sub judice and that because the proposed temple that the VHP wants to build at the site where the mosque stood would have its sanctum in the land under the court’s review, there was little interest from them to support the potentially illegal prayer bid.
In a nutshell what the militants within the rightwing Hindu fold are saying is something that was re-stated by them on Monday that Prime Minister Vajpayee had lied to them and had apparently not told them that the court was the final arbiter on the issue.
If that was the gist of the message from Ashok Singhal, the VHP leader who was allowed by the federally ruled Uttar Pradesh government to travel to Ayodhya on Monday to organize the prayers, there seemed to be a confounding climb-down by other militants too.
On a day of conflicting signals emanating from two groups of the temple movement Ramjanbhoomi Nyas Chief Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans said he would merely “donate” a shila or carved stone to the “receiver” of the disputed site, the government, for construction of the Ram Temple.
“We had thought the Ram Janambhoomi would be handed over to us by March 12, and we would go there on March 15, with shilas to begin the construction work,” Paramhans said in Ayodhya.
“But Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee failed to hand over the land,” he said, adding: “We will not go to others’ land for sangarsh (struggle) or take law into our hands.”
However, on way to Ayodhya, Singhal told reporters in Lucknow that the pooja will be conducted within 67 acres of the acquired land.
With the signals all too conflicting from the VHP and its militant allies, Vajpayee’s coalition partners of the National Democratic Alliance said they were in a bind.
“We fear that in the name of a symbolic bhoomi pooja, the VHP might carry a few carved pillars and establish that they have actually begun construction. In that case, we would be forced to pull out of the government,” said a senior leader of an alliance partner. Yet, there is considerable doubt within the NDA about how far the allies would go against their compulsions of power politics.
Vajpayee’s closest NDA ally, the Samata Party of Defence Minister George Fernandes was talking of “an unforeseeable sequence of events” if the kar sevaks who have gathered in Ayodhya are not dispersed.
Samata spokesman Shambhunath Shrivastava said: “If it is not permitted by the Supreme Court or agreed upon by Muslim community leaders, absolute status-quo at the acquired site should not be altered even in the form of a symbolic pooja. In no case a crowd of pilgrims or kar sevaks should be allowed to gather there, since that may lead to an unforeseeable sequence of events.”
External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh told the Rajya Sabha that the government would not allow the court order to be violated. He stressed that the issue could be resolved only in two ways, either through mutual consensus or by a court of law. “There is no other way. If you want to give another solution, please tell us,” he urged the members.
Other NDA allies, like the Telegu Desam, the Dravida Munnetra Kaszhamgam, the Trinamul Congress, the Janata Dal (U) and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Jana Shakti have already made it clear that they would find it difficult to support the government if it allows construction of the temple.
All of them were silent on Monday though, when Home Minister L. K. Advani defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, rejecting an Opposition demand for his resignation and for an inquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the violence in the state. Angry Opposition members staged a walkout.
Replying to a short duration discussion on Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha, Advani admitted that the “disgraceful” violence was a “black mark” on the government’s hitherto clean image of communal harmony. He also feared that it had affected the country’s image in the world.
But the Home Minister dismissed all charges of the police and state government’s complicity in the rioting, and said: “The government differs on allegations made against the police and administration.”
He listed several incidents where police had come to the rescue of people. This was also the first time, he said, that nearly 100 people had been killed in police firing during riots and this bore testimony to the fact that the state administration and police had not been inactive.
The petition filed by United Lawyers’ Front President, Anis Suhrawardy said that the Ayodhya issue was affecting the secular fabric of the country and hence it was necessary to apprise the Supreme Court to restrain the government from subjecting itself to the pressure of either the VHP or Babri Masjid Action Committee.