Wednesday, July 6 2005 15:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Raising questions over security of the makeshift temple in Ayodhya, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (July 6, 2005) asked the Government to explain how heavily armed terrorists were able to reach the disputed site.

"The question is how the terrorists reached the Ram temple. The Government has to give an answer how they (the terrorists) were able to reach that point," the senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader said here after planting a sapling on the occasion of the 105th birth anniversary of Jan Sangh founder Shyama Prakash Mookerjee.

"The country is surrounded by dangers. No doubt we are strong and can protect our liberty, but the slightest mistake...", he said.

Asserting that the terrorist attack highlighted the dangers, which India's freedom still faced, he said the country had to be "always on alert" and stand united to meet such threats.

"We want to make our independence everlasting and invincible, but it is still surrounded by many dangers. All barriers to our freedom do not seem to have been removed," Vajpayee said.

He said laxity could set in when independence becomes safe and unhindered, "But we will have to be always on alert."

BJP President L K Advani said Mookerjee's contribution to the integrity of the nation was unparalled. "He entered Jammu and Kashmir without a permit in 1953 when you could be shot for doing so. It was only after this that the permit system was abolished," Advani said.