M A I N   N E W S

President for status quo on Ayodhya
PM convenes all-party meeting today as VHP firm on temple
Tribune News Service and PTI

New Delhi, February 25
The government today asserted it was “duty bound” to maintain the status quo at the disputed site in Ayodhya and take all necessary measures to ensure the preservation of law and order in the town, even as the Prime Minister has convened an all-party meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue.

The assertion by the government, reflected in the Address by president K.R. Narayanan, comes in the backdrop of threats by the VHP to start the construction of a temple at the disputed site from March 15 if the land around the site was not handed over to it.

Mr Narayanan said the government, being the statutory receiver, “is duty bound to maintain the status quo at the disputed site in Ayodhya. It will also ensure that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure preservation of law and order”.

Describing the Ayodhya dispute as one of the contentious issues before the country, he said a solution can be found either through a mutual agreement among all parties concerned or a court verdict.

He said an amicable and speedy resolution of the dispute was crucial for communal harmony and national integration.

“The government is firmly of the view that this dispute can be resolved, either through mutual agreement among all parties concerned, or through a verdict of the judiciary,” he said.

Mr Narayanan noted that to facilitate a resolution of the dispute which was crucial for communal harmony and national integration, an Ayodhya Cell has been recently created in the cabinet secretariat.

Prime Minister has convened an all-party meeting tomorrow to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

Leaders of major political parties, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee and BSP vice-president Mayawati have been invited for the meeting, official sources said today.

AYODHYA: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today said carved stone pillars would be taken from its workshop here to Ram temple construction site on March 15.

The VHP vice-president, Acharya Giriraj Kishore, said the pillars and other material would be taken to the temple construction site in this holy city at 2.15 p.m. on March 15.

There would be no change in the programme under any circumstances as the decision in this regard had been taken by saints, he told reporters here.

Recalling that BJP had taken a decision for construction of Ram temple during its Palampur convention, he said the party was now shying away from supporting the temple movement.

The BJP was keeping a safe distance from temple construction programme in view of the Muslim vote bank, he said, adding that the Vajpayee government was pursuing such policies that would help it in completing its term.

He said some non-BJP governments and anti-Hindutva forces were pursuing anti-temple policies but such governments and forces would not last long. PTI