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DMK unhappy with PM's
remarks on Ram temple

There should be a consensus on common issues among the constituents of the NDA, a secular entity, and 'thrusting a different point of view cannot be accepted,' DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said in a statement in Madras.

Breaking his silence on the issue, Karunanidhi avoided any reference to Vajpayee or the Bharatiya Janata Party in his statement, but made his disapproval obvious by reminding the coalition leader that the NDA's national agenda contained a clear commitment to secularism and protection of minorities.

Quoting from the agenda, the NDA's founding document, he said its constituents wanted an end to all divisiveness and a moratorium on contentious issues like Ayodhya, abrogation of Article370 and the Uniform Civil Code. 'To raise any fresh issue now cannot be acceptable,' he said.

The DMK, which leads the NDA in Tamil Nadu, is the first constituent from the state to express disapproval of the prime minister's remarks on Ayodhya through which he favoured construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site. The MDMK has said it is satisfied with Vajpayee's clarifications, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi is yet to react.

Contending that the DMK still had the same strong feeling with which it had condemned the Babri masjid's demolition in 1992, Karunanidhi reiterated the party's assurance to minorities that it was their friend and protector.

"In the National Agenda for Governance of the NDA, there is a clear commitment to the sharing of the hopes and anxieties of the people of India; and to secularism - the emotional harmony of all Indians and full protection to minorities," he said.

Karunanidhi also had a dig at the Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan, saying those who were in power at the Centre when the Babri Masid was demolished had remained silent spectators despite having the army at their disposal.

Those who spoke in support of the kar seva in the National Development Council meeting and sent men and materials for the same 'are now shedding crocodile tears' over the demolition, he added.

The DMK had come under flak from opposition parties like the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Indian National League and Janata Dal (Secular) for its 'silence' on the issue.

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