New Delhi: In an apparent reference to the rumblings of the 'sangh parivar' groups
over the Ayodhya issue, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on February 8 said, "No
issue, howsoever justified in the eyes of one or the other party, can justify
confrontation and communal violence."
Asserting that "law and the interests of the nation are supreme", he told the Chief
Ministers conference on national security that maintenance of peace and communal
harmony was of overriding importance for the country's internal security.
Without directly referring to the Ayodhya imbroglio, he said, "Sensitive issues have
to be handled sensitively. We have to give full play to the powers of dialogue and
negotiations in our attempt to resolve disputes. When a dispute cannot be resolved
though negotiations, the verdict of the judiciary has to be accepted by all
concerned."
At the same time, he said, the nation has learnt at great cost that sensitive issues
should not be left unresolved and to fester for too long. "When circumstances bring
such matters to the court, people expect the judiciary to give its verdict
expeditiously," the Prime Minister said.
This, he said, would enable everyone to leave behind contentious issues inherited
from the past and move on to deal confidently with the pressing tasks of nation
building.
PTI
