Saffron Simians Slammed in Rajya Sabha
Sid Harth
Uma Bharti brushes aside blame before panel
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: Union Sports Minister Uma Bharati on Tuesday pleaded not
guilty. Deposing before the Liberhan Commission probing the Babri
Masjid demolition, she reiterated Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's
claim that she, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were urging kar
sewaks (volunteers) to stop the demolition, rather than instigate them.
Much of what she said happened on December 6, 1992, at Ayodhya was at
substantial variance with what the then Faizabad assistant
superintendent of police Anju Gupta had told the commission earlier.
According to Uma Bharati, on December 6 she had reached Ram Katha Kunj
in the morning, greeted Murli Manohar Joshi and took a seat behind him.
Apart from Joshi and Advani, Bharati initially didn't remember the
names of people on the dais but when the commission's counsel started
naming them one by one, she replied in the affirmative. Those present
were Acharya Dharmendra, Swami Parmananda, Sadhvi Rithambara, BL Sharma
Prem, Ashok Singhal, H V Seshadri.
Then Bharati claimed she doesn't remember who made speeches. ``I was at
the back and there was lot of commotion on the stage,'' she said.
``When I was called to speak, I could see the disputed structure and
some people climbing atop it. Therefore, I could not speak. I could
only recite Hanuman Chalisa and then retreated to the rear. I remember
Advaniji, Joshiji, myself and Singhalji appealing to the people to come
down.''
A ``tensed'' Advani called her backstage and asked her to go near the
disputed structure to stop people from demolishing it, she said.
According to Bharati, a lady police officer (Anju Gupta, whom she
refused to identify) was called by Advani and asked to take Bharati to
a spot from where she could tell kar sewaks to come down.
``On reaching the spot, I told the kar sewaks over megaphone to come
down. When they came down, I told them to protest through democratic
means. They asked me who I was? On learning my identity, they asked me
to go to hell,'' Bharati said.
But Anju Gupta's statement to the commission - available with The Times
of India - contradicts Bharati's claim. ``To the best of my knowledge,
nobody had asked the kar sewaks to come down from the structure,'' Anju
Gupta had said.
According to Gupta's testimony, the demolition was pre-planned. ``On
December 5, IG Lucknow had briefed gazetted officers and said that
there were definite reports by intelligence of attack. Attack on
mediapersons was simultaneous and pre-planned. The first dome fell
within less than two hours, which was not possible without advance
planning, all sorts of implements were available.
``All the leaders, including Advani, Joshi, Katiyar and Uma Bharati
present on the manch (stage), were rejoicing the demolition of the
disputed structure and having sweets which were being distributed.''
Bharati summed up her mood on December 6 thus: ``I felt the same way as
you feel for someone whom you don't want to see, but don't wish dead
either.'' Bharati has now been asked to depose on January 15.
Meanwhile, an application was filed by M M Kashyap on behalf of Mohd.
Aslam to summon PM Vajpayee before the commission, following his
statement that Ram temple be constructed at the disputed site and some
other site be allocated for construction of masjid.
http://www.timesofindia.com/201200/20home1.htm
Govt gets RS rap, Cong brownie points
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: Voting on predicted lines, the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday
adopted by 121-86 votes the Opposition resolution ``disagreeing with
the Prime Minister's reported statement'' defending his three Cabinet
colleagues -- L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharati -- facing trial in
the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The resolution has no legal effect at all, which is why the government
agreed to the debate and the vote. It is the Lok Sabha's confidence
which is mandatory for a government.
This is only the second occasion when the Rajya Sabha has adopted a
motion censuring the government. The first one was in August 1978, on
the alleged meddling in the government for non-legitimate aims by
relatives of the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai and home minister
Charan Singh. That, too, was a Congress-sponsored one and Atal Bihari
Vajpayee was the main speaker defending the government.
As Prime Minister, Vajpayee did so again on Wednesday, and pulled apart
the resolution. He had given no statement, he had specifically said the
court would have to decide the matter, he said. He had been simply
replying to journalists' queries on the general issue and, on being
asked, had said he did not at all believe his colleagues were guilty.
Being the PM, he said, he had every right to speak up for colleagues
whom he trusted; was it for Parliament to decide who should be in his
Cabinet?
Check, he demanded, the statement he gave in Parliament a few days
after the demolition in December 1992 and this one; it is exactly the
same thing. The demolition was a sad event for him and he never
defended it, then or now. Nothing had changed in all these years, the
three ministers had been holding office for a long while. What was the
sudden provocation for the opposition motion? It was just an attempt at
whipping up a controversy from nothing, an attempt to divide the ruling
alliance, and doomed to fail, he said.
Congress chief whip Pranab Mukherjee, who had moved the motion, said
the PM's explanation of how he came to make the remarks at issue was
not satisfactory. As a seasoned politician and PM, he had the ability
and responsibility to handle media queries without creating controversy
on a sensitive topic.
The PM said he had never asked for building a Ram temple at the site of
the demolished mosque. What he had said, and reiterated, was that there
were two ways out: either everyone agrees to wait and abide by the
court verdict or there be ``unconditional'' negotiations between the
parties concerned on a way out.
At no stage has anyone tried to influence the court; his own statement,
the basis for the opposition resolution, had said the courts would
decide the issue (of guilt for the demolition).
Sit with us and let us agree on a code on when ministers should be
asked to resign, he told the opposition, noting the Congress was part
of the Bihar council of ministers though the chief minister there had
also been indicted in a chargesheet. ``You can't have one standard for
Bihar and another for Delhi,'' he said.
There was barracking from the opposition at one point, when Vajpayee
declared the Ayodhya demolition to be the culmination of a ``movement''
and thus something distinct from other cases where he had asked
ministers indicted by a court to resign.
http://www.timesofindia.com/201200/20home3.htm
PM's Iftaar fare: Silence not stir
The Times of India News Service
NEW DELHI: While the Capital's press corps craned their necks and
strained their ears at the prime ministerial iftaar on Tuesday evening
for some off-the-cuff pronouncement on Ayodhya, Kashmir or Pakistan,
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the very epitome of Delphic silence.
Swaddled in red and green shawl, he smiled beatifically at his guests
and posed for photographs in head-gear that the wilder members of his
extended parivar would call `pseudo-secular'. But he uttered not a
word, controversial or otherwise, except to say that the decision on
whether to extend the Kashmir cease-fire or not would be announced in
Parliament on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago at the iftaar hosted by BJP minister Syed Shahnawaz
Hussain, Vajpayee set the cat among the pigeons by claiming the Ayodhya
issue was a matter of national sentiment. At the PM's iftaar, The Times
of India caught up with Hussain. Did he feel poorly done by that
Vajpayee had spoiled his party by making a controversial political
statement while remaining steadfastly silent at his own? Hussain
thought a bit and then replied: ``My house and Atalji's house are one
and the same. Aren't I a member of his government? We are part of one
parivar.''
Though the boycott call by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid evidently
had some effect - the heads of other prominent mosques like the
Fatehpuri masjid and the Nizamuddin shrine also stayed away, along with
their followers - the shortfall of fasting Muslims was amply made up
for by feasting non-Muslims. And while it is customary for Muslim
religious leaders to attend the PM's iftaar from as far as Ajmer, this
time there were a large number of Muslims who had apparently been bused
in from Lucknow and Allahabad by Lalji Tandon, the UP BJP leader, as a
precautionary measure. Tandon, in fact, was seen lining them up for an
obligatory photo-op with the PM.
Despite this gentle pressganging, regulars at prime ministerial iftaars
noticed that Prime Minister Vajpayee's affair Tuesday night saw the
lowest attendance of Muslims in recent years. However, several Delhi
Muslims who attended the iftaar told TOI that the Shahi Imam had no
business telling them where they should go and who they should meet. On
its part, the opposition largely stayed away: Apart from Sonia Gandhi
and Delhi chief minister Shiela Dixit, no prominent non-NDA leaders
could be spotted. The diplomatic corps from the Islamic world was,
however, well represented. Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir
attended, though he was subjected to a brief lecture by Jammu and
Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.
Farooq also said that the Vajpayee government has decided to extend the
Ramzan ceasefire and that this would formally be announced in
Parliament. Expressing his dissatisfaction with Pakistan's refusal to
back the ceasefire, he told The Times of India that ``if they don't
stop the killing, I am not going to stop going after them''. He did not
clarify whether the security forces under his state government's
control would undertake offensive operations even if the Army and
Central paramilitaries continued to suspend their actions.
http://www.timesofindia.com/201200/20mcal1.htm
Trinamul, Desam assailed for BJP bashing
CALCUTTA: The BJP state unit made a dig against the Trinamul Congress
and Telugu Desam for making 'pin pricks against the big brother BJP' to
extract 'political mileage'on Aydhoya issue. "They may have their own
compulsions for pricking the big brother.But ultimately they have
veered around the prime minister Vajpayee and the BJP.The voting in
Parliament has proved that,''said the state BJP president Ashim Ghosh
on Tuesday.
Party vice-president Muzaffar Khan threw an Iftar party which was
supposed to attended by the party president Bangaru Lakhsman.However,
Lakhsman could not come as he was preoccupied in Delhi with the debate
and vote in the upper house.
Pointing out to their difference of 'approch' with Trinamul Congress
Chief Mamata Banerjee on minority related issues like job reservation,
he said that BJP did not believe in 'false promises'. "We are trying to
reach the minorities in the state in a different way."
However, he maintained that Temple-mosque issue would not culminate
into further rift within the TDP-BJP alliance in the state. " We may
have many differeces. But temple issue is no big thing in Bengal. If
the anti-CPM front is the primary concern for us,there is no
choice,"Ghosh said.
It is learnt that the BJP is planning to demand at least 85 assembly
seats from the the senior partner in the state. The issue will be
discussed during the party national executive meeting in Delhi. Mamata
has already refused to talk to the state BJP unit now led by her bete
noire and union minister Tapan Sikder. In the 1996 assembly their was
no BJP member. But the party garnered two Lok Sabha seats in last
general election while finishing third in another three.The party has
also opened book in assembly by wining a by-election.
While claiming that the party's move to the high court has resulted in
the withdrawl of the Bandh by the Lefts, Ghosh, however,fumbled over
the party's stand on strikes. " We will never call bandh in view of the
Supreme court order against that.But we may go for areawise hartal to
press for local demands,''he finally managed to say.
http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20001220/ina20063.html
Govt gets harmless slap on the wrist
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 19: After its resounding defeat in the Lok Sabha
last week, the Opposition got something to crow about today when, as
expected, it got its censure motion through 121-86 in the Rajya Sabha.
The motion censured the Prime Minister for giving a clean chit to his
three chargesheeted Cabinet colleagues in the Babri Masjid demolition
case.
Minutes before the vote, Vajpayee said: ``I appeal to you not to use
the Ayodhya issue as a political weapon for one communalism encourages
another kind of communalism. Issues like these divide the people. A new
controversy should not be started in the name of a reply to the issue.''
In fact, earlier in the day, upset at the strong criticism of his
Ayodhya statement by the allies, especially the Telugu Desam Party,
Vajpayee said at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that allies should
exercise restraint while airing their views.
He said the government was alive to the problems of their respective
states but they should keep the national interest above regional
interests.
Today's defeat in Rajya Sabha, however, has no impact on
theGovernment's stability. It only amounts to a moral defeat of the
Government since a major portion of the Rajya Sabha consists of members
elected by state Assemblies.
Still, this was only the second time in history that the Government had
to face the ignominy of defeat in the Rajya Sabha. Earlier in August
1978, the Morarji Desai Government lost a motion moved by Congress
leader N K P Salve demanding constitution of inquiry committees on
allegations of corruption against the families of Desai and former Home
minister Charan Singh.
Vajpayee, then External Affairs Minister, was the main speaker of the
Janata Party though the Government refused to comply with the
directives of the House.
Today, replying to the debate, Vajpayee denied having given a clean
chit to his Ministers adding he never spoke on the Ayodhya issue after
1992. He also denied having said that the temple should be built at the
site of the demolished mosque or ever supporting the demolition.
He promised to honour the court verdict while accusing the Opposition
of pre-judging the case against his three colleagues, Advani, Joshi and
Uma Bharati, by holding them guilty even before court pronounced its
judgement on them.
He also claimed that the Congress's efforts to draw a wedge within the
NDA had not yielded results. ``We may be having differences on some
other issues but we all are committed to the National Agenda of
Governance and the principles of democracy, secularism and justice'',
said the Prime Minister.
During his 45-minute speech, Vajpayee took a dig at the Opposition by
referring to corruption charges against Laloo Yadav and Rabri. There
could be no two yardsticks for Delhi and Bihar. ``I would request you
to formulate a code of conduct for Ministers and decide the issues on
which Ministers would resign,'' the Prime minister said.
He also referred to Rajiv Gandhi's decision to launch his 1989 election
campaign from Ayodhya saying, ``this shows that Rajiv too had a place
for Ram and his Temple in his heart''.
However, Vajpayee did not back out from his earlier stated position.
``People may differ but for me, Ayodhya issue was a movement which
shrunk after the demolition of the disputed structure. People who
participated in it can't be equated with those facing corruption or
criminal charges'', he said adding he had not put on a new mask.
Replying to the discussion, Pranab Mukherjee who moved the motion,
termed the Prime Minister's statement ambiguous which was creating
confusion in the country.
The Congress had no objection on the choice of the Ministers because it
was the prerogative of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had
dropped two Ministers because they were chargesheeted in corruption
cases but allowed continuance of three Ministers chargesheeted in
Ayodhya case. ``We are only opposed to such selective punishments,'' he
said.
Justifying the raising of the ayodhya issue, Mukherjee said the motive
was not to divide the nation but to arrive at clarity on an issue
confronting the nation.
The Prime minister earlier turned emotional regretting aspersions cast
by the Opposition on his four-decade political life. Vajpayee said that
his entire career was an open book and Parliament and the entire nation
was a witness to it. He said he had never supported the Ayodhya
demolition and there was no contradiction in his speech today and the
one made in Parliament after the demolition.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20001220/ied20047.html
The Babri boomerang
The NDA government's first ever defeat in the Rajya Sabha, on the
Ayodhya issue, although a foregone conclusion given the disadvantage of
numbers in the Upper House, nevertheless came as a major embarrassment.
The Congress sponsored Opposition motion on Ayodhya was carried by an
impressive 121 votes in favour to 86 against. Other than the Bahujan
Samaj Party, all the other Opposition parties stood rock solid behind
the censure motion. The fact that all of them were present went to
prove that they had clearly learnt a lesson from their ignominious Lok
Sabha defeat last week. Indeed, the Opposition's victory in the Rajya
Sabha, an unintended consequence of Prime Minister Vajpayee's
observations on Ayodhya, will have three implications: First, it is
bound to boost the morale of an Opposition which had been rendered
insignificant in the first year of the present Vajpayee government.
Political observers had even commented that the RSS had virtually
replaced the official Opposition. While the Congress hadself-destructed
itself with its ``constructive criticism'', the Third Front just could
not get its act together. The Ayodhya card seems to have given the
Opposition visibility suddenly both inside and outside Parliament.
The second fall out of the Ayodhya issue is that the government has
been forced to go on the defensive. After having defined a bold new
agenda on Ayodhya with his controversial remarks, which fell short of
claiming mandir wahin banayenge, Prime Minister Vajpayee has since then
been gradually backtracking. In the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the PM, in
a last minute bid to avert a voting, stated that he had never favoured
the demolition of the mosque in the first place. And, in a compromising
undertone, he added that there were only two options left to resolve
the contentious issue: A direct unconditional dialogue between the
Hindus and Muslims, or leaving the matter to the courts to decide. The
provocative phrases, previously articulated, such as `unfinished task'
of Ayodhya, and the `national sentiment', were cleverly omitted from
the PM's speech in the Upper House. Instead he chose to firmly reject
the demand for the resignation of his three `tainted' cabinet
colleagues.
The third implication of raising the Ayodhya issue is equally
unintended: The visible rift between the BJP and the other NDA allies.
Although they have backed the government in Parliament and outside, yet
they have not refrained from distancing themselves from the PM's remark
on Ayodhya. With an eye on the minority votes in their constituencies,
most of the NDA allies, especially the southern partners and Mamata
Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, have reminded the Vajpayee
government to stick to the NDA's agenda for governance. The fact that
they have still put their might behind the Vajpayee government is not
due to any ideological commitment but because the Congress and the Left
groups constitute the main Opposition in the states where they are in
power. All in all, the government handlingof the Ayodhya issue has had
the opposite effect of what was intended: It has put the Vajpayee
government on the defensive.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://www.hinduonline.com/today/stories/01200001.htm
We will abide by court verdict: Vajpayee
By K. V. Prasad
NEW DELHI, DEC. 19. The Rajya Sabha today handed the Vajpayee
Government a major embarrassment when it adopted, by a 121-86 margin, a
motion, recording its ``disagreement'' with the Prime Minister over his
strong defence of his three Cabinet colleagues charged in the Babri
Masjid demolition case.
Though the vote gave the Opposition only a moral satisfaction and
carried with it practically no constitutional significance, the debate
gave the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, another opportunity
to clarify, for the benefit of the NDA allies as well as the entire
nation, his stand on the issue. In his 36-minute intervention, the
Prime Minister managed the difficult task of retracting himself back to
a reasonable stance and yet reaffirming his ``Hindu'' identity.
Mr. Vajpayee made a number of propositions. (A) He never supported the
demolition of the structure at Ayodhya. ``I had opposed it, criticised
it.'' (B) The Ayodhya movement began as a movement but it got distorted
and restricted, and then the unfortunate incident of the demolition
took place. (C) He had never said the Ram Mandir should be constructed
at the disputed site. The Prime Minister reaffirmed his Government's
commitment made in the Lok Sabha last week to abide by the court's
decision in the ongoing Ayodhya dispute and to the NDA agenda. The
other alternative was through unconditional negotiations between the
two communities, he said and accused the then Prime Minister, Mr. P. V.
Narasimha Rao, of ``deliberately delaying'' the decision that could
have led to a resolution of the issue.
Despite laboured efforts to come across as a reasonably moderate voice,
Mr. Vajpayee could not resist reaffirming his ``Hindu'' identity and
insisted on reciting a poem he had penned as a 10th class student.
(This poem had first brought forth the young Atal in the right
quarters).
The Prime Minister found himself in an uncomfortable position when Mr.
Janeshwar Mishra of the Samajwadi Party asked whether by insisting that
the Ram temple movement was a manifestation of a ``national
sentiment'', was Mr. Vajpayee not validating Mohammed Ali Jinnah's two-
nation theory. In a rather feeble rejoinder, Mr. Vajpayee suggested
that ``mandir'' was a neutral expression.
Rejecting the Opposition demand for the resignations of Mr. L. K.
Advani, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms. Uma Bharti, he said the cases
against them were a result of a ``movement'', a description which
attracted loud protests.
Offer to Opposition
The only concession Mr. Vajpayee made was the offer inviting the
Opposition to sit with the Government and codify ``propriety'' and draw
up a code of conduct defining the situation in which those holding high
offices were expected to resign.
In the same breath, he reminded the Congress that it could not adopt a
different yardstick in Delhi by demanding that the three BJP Ministers
quit their office and another in Bihar, where the party was part of a
coalition with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, whose Chief Minister too, was
facing charges. Commenting on the motion that disagreed with his clean
chit to the three Ministers, the Prime Minister said that by demanding
the resignations before the court verdict, the Opposition was
``prejudging'' the issue. The Prime Minister expressed despair that the
Opposition had sought to press for a discussion under a motion
entailing vote, and pressed home the advantage of its numerical
superiority in the House. He asked why it did not bring a no-
confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on the issue. Winding up the
discussion, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee of the Congress urged Mr. Vajpayee not
to ``belittle'' numbers which had a crucial role in parliamentary
democracy. The Prime Minister's depiction of himself as a hapless
victim of ``media'' pressure also did not carry much conviction. In his
school-masterly manner, Mr. Mukherjee ticked him off: ``It is the job
of newsmen to ask questions. But it does not mean that you, Mr. Prime
Minister, should have replied to these. Can you say someone asked a
question and you replied to it. Your reply created a confusion.''
http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20001220/ina20061.html
PM does some Iftar diplomacy to repair relations with Muslims
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, DEC 19: With the cloud of the Jama Masjid Shahi Imam's
boycott call hanging over his Iftar after his Ayodhya statements, Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee pulled out the stops this evening to do
some hardsell with the Muslim community.
Flanked by his only Muslim minister, Shahnawaz Hussain, and the BJP's
new ``secular'' face, Bangaru Laxman, Vajpayee greeted virtually all
his Muslim guests personally.
It was a departure from convention and security norms which for the
past two years secluded him in an enclosure with select VIPs. This
year, in an obvious bid to repair the damage to his moderate image in
the wake of the Ayodhya controversy, Vajpayee posed for photographs,
accepted scarves and exchanged pleasantries with the Muslim hoi polloi.
The BJP had put in enormous effort to get the public relations exercise
off the ground. Vajpayee's Man Friday in Lucknow, Lalji Tandon, had
brought a posse of Muslims by private plane. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
rounded up as many guests as he could from neighbouring UP towns. And
Hussain was set to work to rope in the bigwigs of the community from
other states. For the record, the PMO did not send an invitation to the
Shahi Imam on a point of prestige.
In the end, it was a motely group that gathered in Ashoka Hotel's
Convention Hall to which the venue was shifted after Hussain was
roughed up by angry members of his community during Friday prayers. Not
a single Muslim leader of note from Delhi turned up. Those who came
from local areas all admitted that they were BJP workers and supporters.
At the same time, a 21-member team came from Ajmer Sharif. Benares sent
a Shia leader of modest repute, Maulana Hamid-ul-Hasan, while the Darul
Uloom Warsia of Lucknow sent an 11-man group led by Qazi Abul Hasan. In
addition, there were Muslims from Meerut, Amroha, Bullundshahr and as
far away as Calcutta.
However, the scholarly element was missing. None of the Islamic
theological schools were represented, nor was the Muslim Personal Law
Board. A handful of Muslim MPs turned up, including the one wanted by
the Bihar police for his brush with a jail warder.
Haji Taj Mohd of Meerut admitted wryly, ``I came because the local BJP
unit invited me. We live near each other and you know how it is. I am
sad that the temple issue has been raked up again. Atalji should not
have said what he said. It does not behove a Prime Minister.''
On the other hand, Ilias Qadri from Ajmer felt the Ram temple was a non-
issue now. ``Let them build a temple there. After the idols of Ram
Lalla were put, it had ceased to be a mosque anyway.''
If Vajpayee used the occasion to try and repair his mask, Sports
Minister Uma Bharati too followed suit. Unlike the other BJP leaders
present, she made it a point to greet the Maulanas and be photographed
with them.
The public relations exercise almost came unstuck, however, when the
waiters unexpectedly started serving dates and nuts before the prayers.
Clearly, someone forgot to brief them that this was not the usual
party. As hungry believers helped themselves to food, an announcement
was hurriedly made over the mike that there were still 15 minutes to go
for the roza to end.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/201200/detfro01.asp
PM adamant: Ayodhya is a ‘people’s movement’
HT Correspondent
(New Delhi, December 19)
PRIME MINISTER Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday said his Government
would honour the court’s verdict on the Ayodhya tangle when it is
delivered. But, he maintained, the Ayodhya issue was “a people’s
movement and not a mere court case”.
The Prime Minister was replying to a Rajya Sabha debate on the
Opposition motion that “disagreed” with his remarks that gave a clean
chit to the three Union Ministers who are chargesheeted in the Babri
Mosque demolition case. The House adopted the motion by 121 to 86
votes. This was not surprising: the Government is in a minority in the
Rajya Sabha. More importantly, today’s vote has no implications on the
longevity of the Vajpayee Government.
Mr Vajpayee said the country was passing through difficult times and
the Opposition should avoid contentious issues. The Government had
taken initiatives on Jammu and Kashmir and is to soon decide on the
continuance on the ceasefire there. “We are ready to talk with anybody,
including our neighbours if need be, to resolve the issues,” he said.
Mr Vajpayee said he made his remarks on the three ministers while
replying to questions from mediapersons. He rejected the demand that
the ministers’ resign, saying that they were doing well.
The Prime Minister said he had no intention of curtailing the role of
courts in deciding who was innocent or guilty.
The discussion raised by the Opposition was politically motivated, Mr
Vajpayee asserted. Elections were still far away. He was being charged
that he made “the statement” keeping the polls in the view. This was
wrong, he said. When mediapersons questioned him, he couldn’t keep
quiet. He made his position clear.
The Prime Minister said the Opposition gave the example of Mr Harin
Pathak who recently quit his ministry. Mr Pathak, he said, had quit on
his own. The three Ministers - L.K. Advani, M. M. Joshi and Uma
Bharati - faced no charges of corruption or misuse of office. There was
objection to some of their activities relating to Ayodhya. The issue
was in court and there were no attempts to influence the course of
justice.
He said norms could be fixed for the seeking of ministerial
resignations. But the yardstick ought not be different yardsticks for
the Government in Delhi and the one Bihar.
The PM said he, however, treated Ayodhya “separately.” It was a
movement — an “andolan.” The others could differ with him on his views.
There was protest from the Opposition benches at this stage but
Chairman Krishan Kant ruled nothing would be recorded.
“I never supported the demolition of the structure. I spoke in the
House. I brought a no-confidence motion. There is no change in my view.
There is no new mukhauta (mask),” he said. The Ayodhya temple issue was
a movement, which in fact shrunk when the structure came down, he said.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/201200/detsta03.asp
Naidu slams BJP, others for raising temple issue
HTC, Hyderabad
ANDHRA CHIEF Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday lambasted all
parties, including the BJP for raking up the Ayodhya issue in an
irresponsible manner at a time when the country was facing other
serious problems.
At a Press conference here, Naidu gave vent to his ire, saying it was
unfortunate that, after having agreed to abide by the court's verdict
on the issue, all parties were raking up this issue for political
gains. It was quite distressing that public issues were getting
diverted. The mandir-masjid issue disrupted the Parliament proceedings
for 10 days, which was sheer waste. Naidu was unsparing in his attack
on the Congress. "People know all about Congress. It was the Congress
that permitted the Shilanyas at Ayodhya and it was a mute witness to
the demolition of Babri Masjid."
Asked why he was blaming the Congress when the Prime Minister made the
contoversial remarks, he quipped: "I am attacking the Centre and the
Opposition as both are responsible for diverting the attention from
real issues. We were not given the opportunity to raise farmers' issue
in Parliament."
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/201200/detnat06.asp
CPM assails PM, Trinamool
HTC, New Delhi
THE CPI-M launched a double-barreled attack today. It targeted the
Vajpayee Government for inciting communal frenzy with the Ayodhya issue
and lashed out at the Trinamool for supporting to a separatist outfit
in West Bengal.
Speaking to newspersons, CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee said that though
the Prime Minister may not have to resign because of Government's
defeat in the Rajya Sabha today, he has to take note of the "moral and
ethics" involved in the outcome. The Left leader charged that instead
of clarifying his statements on Ayodhya, Vajpayee had reiterated them
in the House. Though he said that he would abide by the court's
verdict, the regime was arousing communal sentiments by its actions and
sentiments, he alleged.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/201200/detnat03.asp
Ayodhya shadow over PM’s Iftar
HT Correspondent
(New Delhi, December 19)
NDA ALLIES are a relieved lot - Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's reply to
the Ayodhya debate in the Rajya Sabha did not provoke any fresh
controversy. However, the members are still not satisfied with the
BJP's response.
The PM too, did not seem to be happy with the allies' behaviour, though
he was grateful for their support in defeating the Opposition motion in
the Lok Sabha. Reflecting their mood, many of the allies, who were
unhappy with his statements, kept a low-profile at the iftar hosted by
him this evening. They did not come out with any statement, welcoming
his Rajya Sabha statement .
The Prime Minister told the House of Elders that he was among those who
deplored the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. He said the only
solution to the dispute was either by a Court verdict or by Hindus and
Muslims after discussions without any preconditions.
He said he had never approved of the demolition and his criticism of
the event was well known. He had never stated that the temple would
come up at the disputed site, he added.
The allies said the PM was still not prepared to withdraw his earlier
statement that the Ayodhya movement was 'an expression of national
sentiment, which was yet to be fulfilled'.
As a consequence, the PM's iftar party at Ashok Hotel's Convention Hall
turned out to be a low-key affair.
Many Muslims were present at the party, though the Shahi Imam of Jama
Masjid had called for a boycott of iftars hosted by BJP leaders.
However, prominent Muslim leaders did not attend the party.
Some Shia and Sunni leaders had come from Lucknow, Vajpayee's home
constituency, at the behest of the PM's lieutenant, UP Minister Lalji
Tandon.
Quari Mohammad Mian Mazhari, Chairman of the Islamic Council of India,
led the prayer at the iftar. Among those present were, Congress chief
Sonia Gandhi, diplomats from all Islamic countries, including Pakistan,
Home Minister L K Advani and several Central Ministers.
None of the allies wanted to go on record on their reaction to
Vajpayee's speech in the Upper House. Vajpayee had told the BJP
parliamentary parties that the allies must exercise restrain while
expressing their views.
BJP parliamentary party spokesperson V K Malhotra quoted Vajpayee as
telling that allies should also bear in mind "national interests,"
which were important.
Vajpayee, however, observed that the NDA had been strengthened
following the vote in Parliament on the Ayodhya issue.
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