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New Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's statement on construction of temple in Ayodhya set off a fresh round of controversy with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) expressing "shock" and the Opposition parties accusing him of deviating from the ruling coalition's agenda.

The Opposition parties gave notice of their plan to rake up the issue in Parliament on August 4 seeking explanation from the government.

However, another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), avoided a direct reply on the issue. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu merely repeated his party's known stand that everyone should await Supreme Court's judgement on the matter and abide by it.

DMK president M Karunanidhi said the Prime Minister's statement on August 1 in Ayodhya contradicted his assurances to Parliament and the commitment in the NDA agenda. "It is the Prime Minister's duty to remove these apprehensions," he said writing in his party organ 'Murasoli'.

He also said it was shocking that there were contradictions in what the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's statements on the issue. The Opposition parties accused the BJP leaders of endorsing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) views on the temple issue and playing politics on the occasion of the funeral of Mahant Paramhans with an eye on elections.

"It is unfortunate that Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister used a sad occasion to rake up a controversy on the Ayodhya issue. By doing so they went against the agenda of the NDA which is supposed to be their manifesto," Congress spokesman Jaipal Reddy said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leader Somnath Chatterjee said if Vajpayee had felt there was a new thinking on the Ayodhya issue, he should have come to Parliament. "But this is a reprehensible conduct of highest government functionaries." He also demanded that the BJP's allies make their stand on the issue clear and sought to know what action they proposed to take on it.

"But these allies are so opportunist that they will stick with the BJP to get the spoils of power", Chatterjee said.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) Central Secretariat also condemned the speeches made by Vajpayee and Advani for "openly taking the position of the RSS-Vishwa Hindu Parisahd (VHP)."

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav accused BJP of playing politics to gain political mileage in the elections.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board charged BJP with raking up emotive issues with an eye on the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

The Babri Masjid Action Committee said Vajpayee used the occasion to send a message that there was no shift in the BJP's stand on the temple issue.

PTI