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Should the Centre impose President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh to stall VHP's temple designs? Post your views

Nagpur: Alleging that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee "lacked political will to take initiative on Ram temple issue", Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on September 22 demanded that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come out of National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Launching a scathing attack on Vajpayee and the BJP-led government at the Centre, VHP leader Ashok Singhal said, "Vajpayee lacks political will to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya and the party (BJP) will have to pay a heavy price for that," and added that BJP should come out of NDA.

Talking to reporters, Singhal asked, "When the Vajpayee government could muster support of its allies in NDA to defeat the no-trust motion introduced by Congress recently in Parliament, what prevents them from taking initiative in Ram temple issue?"

Ridiculing the Centre's approach for not bringing a resolution on banning cow slaughter in the country, he said the mass movement on Ram temple would only decide the issue.

To a suggestion that since Vajpayee was concerned about his image, he was probably not taking up the Ram temple issue, Singhal shot back, "The image of Lord Ram was greater than that of Vajpayee. His (Vajpayee) personality is creating a hurdle in the issue."

"Atalji ek kalakar hai" (Atalji is an artist), he said without elaborating.

"The temple issue is a religious movement and VHP will not allow any political party to derive political mileage out of it. It is political adultery," Singhal said.

PTI