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PM's temple comment 'inadvertently made'

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's assertion on Wednesday that efforts to construct the Ram temple in Ayodhya 'reflect the people's sentiments and the job is still incomplete' was inadvertently made by him in reaction to the Opposition's obstructionist tactics in Parliament, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said.

A BJP Member of Parliament from Delhi pointed out that Vajpayee had been 'cut to the quick' at the party's parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday when party members, in an unprecedented gesture, stood up and exhorted him not to take the Opposition strategy in Parliament lying down.

"His statement pertaining to the incomplete task in Ayodhya was made at the spur of the moment," the veteran BJP MP, known for his outspokenness, pointed out.

After both houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Wednesday, Vajpayee was queried by reporters about his government's refusal to accede to the Opposition demand for the resignation of three Union ministers - L K Advani, Murli Manohar joshi, Uma Bharti - chargesheeted in the demolition of the Babri masjid.

"Woh jan bhavna ka prateek tha. Woh karya abhi pura nahin hua hai," (it was an expression of the people's feelings. The task is incomplete) the prime minister responded.

His statement elicited a storm of protest from opposition parties indicating that the furore in Parliament is not likely to die down soon.

"Now it is clear that the National Democratic Alliance agenda is a mask. The real agenda is that of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and other members of the Sangh Parivar," thundered Congress spokesman Anand Sharma.

He said Vajpayee's statement was an insult to the law of the land and the judiciary.

Pointing out that the three central ministers had been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Sharma said, "Vajpayeeji should clarify whether he respects the court and the law."

The Congress spokesman also deplored the prime minister's comparison of the party's Ayodhya moment to the freedom movement in 1947.

He said the statement was an insult to Mahatma Gandhi and India's secularism and democracy and demanded an apology from the BJP.

Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Nilotpal Basu condemned the prime minister's statement, saying 'the mask has been ripped off from this communal NDA government'.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati, while condemning Vajpayee's statement, held both the BJP and Congress responsible for the demolition.

"Yeh dono ek hi sikke ke do mukh hain," (these two parties are two sides of the same coin) she pointed out.

There were indications that the prime minister's office might be readying itself for some damage control exercises in the light of Vajpayee's controversial statement.

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