M A I N   N E W S

Muslims ‘not to give up’ site

NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (UNI) — The Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee (BMMCC) today vowed that Muslims would never surrender the Babri Masjid site at Ayodhya but offered to provide an adjacent plot for the construction of a Ram Temple.

“The Muslim community has always been prepared to negotiate an honouranle settlement and never opposed the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya even on a site adjacent to the Babri Masjid but shall never surrender the Masjid site,” BMMCC convener Syed Shahabuddin said.

Castigating Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for “demolishing his liberal and secular image and the life-long reputation of moderation and commitment to the Constitution” by his recent utterances, Mr Shahabuddin urged the ‘secular opposition’ and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies to prevail upon Mr Vajpayee to fulfil his constitutional obligations.

He said the Prime Minister’s attribution of “honest motive” to Union Ministers L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who have been chargesheeted in the Ayodhya case, was designed to put pressure on the CBI. “By taking the stand that the Mandir shall be built on the Babri Masjid site, he (Mr Vajpayee) has tried to influence the Supreme Court,” he alleged.

The former MP also charged that the Prime Minister’s statement would give a green signal to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to translate its threat of constructing a temple into action.

Meanwhile, Babri Masjid Reconstruction Front President Dr Shakil Sheri demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, saying his statements on the reconstruction of a Ram Temple were “wrong, unconstitutional and unnecessary.”

Fatehpuri Masjid Shahi Imam Mohammad Mukarram Ahmed, in a statement, said Muslims would never abdicate their claim on the Babri Masjid and criticised Mr Vajpayee for making statements when the issue was sub judice.

Insaf Party president and United Muslim Front chairman Dr Basser Ahmad, taking strong exception to Mr Vajpayee’s statement that the Ayodhya agenda was still incomplete, said the Muslims wanted rebuilding of the Babri Masjid at its site.

“By saying that the construction of the Ram Temple was an expression of nationalist sentiment, Mr Vajpayee was speaking the RSS jargon,” he alleged.

In Lucknow, the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) said, “The Prime Minister was not expected to have suggested the construction of the Ram Temple at the disputed site at least while the suit was pending.”

CALCUTTA (PTI): Senior Congress leader and CWC member Pranab Mukherjee on Friday criticised Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for his statement on construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and demanded the issue be discussed in Parliament.

“That is why we want to discuss the issue in Parliament. The NDA allies will have to clearly express their view on the issue”, Mr Mukherjee said while addressing a dharna here by the Congress Legislature Party.