Thursday, July 28 2005 17:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Raebareli (UP): BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) President L K Advani today (July 28, 2005) said the people of the country would not rest until a grand Ram Temple is built at the disputed site in Ayodhya and favoured a solution that fosters an atmosphere of communal harmony and amity in the country.

"I assure you that the people will not rest until a grand Ram Temple is constructed at the disputed site in Ayodhya in place of the makeshift temple", Advani said while addressing party workers in Raebareli after appearing in a special court for framing of charges in the Ayodhya demolition case.

Somnath temple in Gujarat

Citing the example of the Somnath temple in Gujarat, Advani said the Ram temple could have been be built by a decision of the union cabinet as was done in the case of former but hastened to add it was not possible in the present regime more so because it is surviving with the support of Left parties.

Another solution of the problem could be a decision by the court but again the same could be challenged in a higher court and the matter would linger on, he said.

"There are people who say if the Muslims voluntarily give up their claim on the land a solution can be found", he said adding he felt it was possible.

"If it happens it will not only pave the way for the construction of a Ram temple in deference to the wishes of crores of people but also foster an atmosphere of harmony and amity", the BJP leader said.

He said the problem of Ram temple is not confined only to Hindus but is a problem of the whole country.

The BJP president said his objective was not only to built a Ram temple at Ayodhya but also to defeat the 'pseudo-secularists' who indulged in the 'politics of vote bank'.

Failure of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi

The failure of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to visit Ayodhya after the terrorist attack at the Ram Janambhoomi complex reflected their 'distorted mentality', he said.

Referring to the debates in Parliament during its ongoing monsoon session, Advani lamented that neither the Congress nor the Left parties spoke on the infiltration of Bangladeshis in Assam, which he said, posed a serious threat to national security.

The Congress and the Left kept have been saying no Indian citizen should be deported and were not bothered about the large scale influx, he said adding they were not expected to oppose it as the immigrants were their vote bank.

Recalling his 'rathyatra' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in 1990, the BJP leader said he chose Somnath, as it was the place where for the first time the Government of India had taken a decision to restore an ancient temple.

Restoration Work

Advani said after the union cabinet had decided to restore the Somnath temple, Patel had met Mahatma Gandhi, who gave his blessings but suggested that the expenditure of the restoration work should not be borne by the Government but by the people.

"A trust was then floated for the purpose of collecting donations for restoration of the Somnath temple", he said.

The BJP leader said when the Britishers left India they not only divided the country into two parts but also sowed the seeds of further divisions by leaving it upon the 503 princely States to decide their future.

It had been left to the states to either merge with India or Pakistan or even maintain their independent identity, he said adding the then princely state of Junagarh in Gujarat had declared that it would merge with Pakistan.

The BJP president said for years his party was not associated with the Ram temple movement and it was spearheaded by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the saints but in the party's executive committee meeting in Himachal Pradesh in 1989, we formally decided to join the movement as we realised that the issue was attached to national pride.

Mohd Ali Jinnah

Recalling the speech of Mohd Ali Jinnah after the formation of Pakistan in which he advocated equal treatment to all religions and communities, Advani said, "Jinnah had declared that Hindus may go to their temples and Muslims to their mosques without any fear as each community would get a fair and equal treatment in Pakistan".

He said he had referred to this speech during his visit in Pakistan while making an appeal for a peaceful co-existence between the two countries.

"However, I also told them that any lasting peace would not be possible unless the infrastructure of terrorism is completely demolished", he said expressing regret over the recent incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir which proved that the menace still existed.

Advani lauded the efforts of the previous NDA (National Democratic Alliance) Government to bring Pakistan on the negotiating table, which led to the announcement of military ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was something, which we began that the UPA Government is now taking forward, he added.

The former Home Minister also said during his recent visit to Pakistan after 27 years, he was pleasantly surprised to see that ancient Hindu temples were being maintained and preserved there.