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Allahabad: In his first public comments after resigning from the Union Cabinet, Human Resources Minister Murli Manohar Joshi on September 21 termed as "unfortunate" the Rae Bareli Special Court's decision to frame charges against him in the Babri mosque demolition case and dismissed as "baseless" allegations about his involvement in the incident.

Making his first visit to his Parliamentary constituency after putting in his papers, Joshi also expressed his resolve to take the Ayodhya issue to the people and fight the case to its logical conclusion in the court.

"The allegations levelled against me in the Ayodhya demolition case is baseless and unfortunate," Joshi said addressing a state-level Dalit meet.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said he would not only take the Ayodhya issue to the people but also take the legal battle in this regard to its conclusion.

On the Ayodhya issue, he said the sentiments of the majority population should not be ignored.

Recalling that it was a Dalit from Bihar who laid the first brick for the construction of the Ram temple in 1992, he declared that another person from the community would lay the foundation of the grand temple whenever its construction begins.

Earlier, on arrival at the Allahabad railway station, Joshi was accorded a rousing reception by a large number of party workers.

Joshi had said on September 20 that he would await Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's return from abroad before deciding his next course of action.

PTI