New Delhi, March 13
The Vajpayee government was at the receiving end in both Houses of Parliament over its plea to the Supreme Court to allow a symbolic “bhoomi puja” at the undisputed land in Ayodhya.
An angry Opposition forced repeated adjournments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, refusing to personally clarify the government’s stand in the apex court, Parliament was adjourned for the day.
The government fielded its eminent lawyer-turned-Law Minister Arun Jaitley to explain its stand and give an assurance to Parliament that the government would abide by the Supreme Court direction. Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Jaswant Singh, also gave an assurance that the Supreme Court order would be complied with.
Mr Jaitley said Attorney-General Soli Sorabjee had informed the apex court that “such a puja would not violate the orders of the Supreme Court, which as per our understanding, restricted status quo to the disputed land”.
He said the “government is fully committed to the implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court and the same shall be fully complied with.”
The Attorney-General informed the court that security personnel were deployed in
sufficient numbers to take care of the law and order situation.
It was also clarified that if the puja was permitted, its performance would not create any “right or interest in favour of anybody or person”.
The Law Minister said the Supreme Court had held that no religious activity of any kind or transfer of land to any person should be permitted till the disposal of the petition.
“The government fully respects the orders and the same shall be fully complied with,” the minister assured the Rajya Sabha.
Asserting that there was no ambiguity in the government’s stand, External Affairs Minister and Leader of the House Jaswant Singh, who briefly intervened after Jaitley, said, “We are bound by the court ruling and on March 15 no violation will be allowed.”
Mr Jaswant Singh sought to make it clear that the government had not filed any affidavit or written statement before the apex court.
The ministers’ clarifications evoked strong reaction from the opposition members who said the BJP’s hidden agenda had come into open.
Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha charged the government with abandoning the NDA agenda and pushing the VHP agenda.
