CC Condemns VHP Announcement

THE Vishwa Hindu Parishad has announced through the "dharma sansad" at Allahabad, that the construction of the Ram Temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya will begin any time after March 12, 2002. According to the RSS outfit, this time is being given to the center to remove all the obstacles to the construction of the temple.

The central committee of the CPI(M) condemns this announcement in the strongest possible terms. Any decision about the disputed site at Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood, can be taken only after the Court's dispose of the case regarding the ownership of the site. The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court is hearing the title deed case, and it is only after this judicial process that the matter can be resolved. No religious gathering or RSS outfit can be above the law of the land and the constitution.

The decision taken by the VHP-RSS combine under the cover of a religious gathering, is a blatant political step to help the BJP. Everyone knows that the UP assembly elections are due by March next year. The programme announced by the VHP, of mass mobilization for the temple construction in the coming period is meant to heighten communal tensions and create a polarization for political purposes.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, had in his recent newspaper article stated that the government is committed to abide by the court decision. The prime minister’s commitment will have to be tested in the face of the threats issued by the VHP-RSS combine. The land acquired by the central government after the Babri Masjid was demolished will have to remain with the government till the final judicial verdict. Any effort to change the status quo cannot be tolerated.

The Central Committee of the CPI(M) appeals to all the democratic and secular forces to take a firm and united stand to mobilize all sections of the people against the nefarious designs to stoke up the temple controversy which will have harmful consequences for communal peace and amity.