Wednesday, April 12 2006 14:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Solapur (Western Maharashtra): Under attack from the VHP for his appeal to Muslims for a negotiated settlement to the vexed Ayodhya issue, senior BJP leader L K Advani today (Apr 12, 2006) said the party abandoned the legislative option due to opposition from NDA allies and it was 'not feasible'.

Asserting there was no 'basic change' in the party's stand, the Leader of Opposition told reporters here on the seventh day of his 'Bharat Suraksha Yatra' here that enacting a legislation to pave the way for the construction of the Ram temple was a 'very very long (process) and it is not possible till we get a majority of our own'.

He was responding to questions as to why the party has abandoned the legislative option.

"We are not emphatic on the course (of solving the imbroglio). There is nothing wrong in the legislative option but it is not feasible. However, if the Ram temple is builtthrough consensus, there cannot be anything greater for amity and goodwill among the two communities," he said.

The former Deputy Prime Minister said many of the BJP's allies in the NDA Government "did not agree with the Ayodhya movement" itself and hence were not agreeable to any legislation to solve the issue.

"Our allies did not agree to it. They were against any legislation. So we confined ourselved to the two other methods a judicial verdict or a negotiated settlement. But a negotiated settlement would be more enduring," he said.

Firebrand VHP leader Praveen Togadia had charged Advani with straying from the party's ideology on the Ram temple issue after he appealed to Muslims to abandon their claim over the disputed site in Ayodhya at the launch of his 6,000 kmlong 'Bharat Suraksha Yatra' in Rajkot on April six. Asked about Togadia's criticism, Advani said, "Everybody has his views. I have no objections."

"Mandir waheen banayenge (we will construct the temple there only)," the senior BJP leader asserted when asked whether there was any dilution in the party's stand.

At a public rally here last night, BJP General Secretary Pramod Mahajan said the non-construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya during the NDA regime still 'pained him' and asserted he would work for it 'till the last drop of blood' in his body.

Advani had catapulted the BJP to the centre stage by his Somnath-Ayodhya Ram Rath Yatra. However, VHP has been highly critical of the party, particularly Advani, for using the Ayodhya movement to gain power and not facilitating the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya during the six years of the NDA Government.

In a recent interview to sources , Togadia said extending support to Advani's Yatra was a "blunder" and the VHP will not 'repeat the mistake'.

Advani's recent statement appealing to Muslims for a negotiated settlement to the Ayodhya issue is also being seen as part of his continuing efforts to shed his hardliner image, with his maiden attempt being the controversial remarks on Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah during his visit to Pakistan last year.