'Govt. can allow construction on adjacent site'

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, DEC. 13. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh today gave more than a hint on how it planned to proceed with the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya - which it described as a ``matter of national honour''- without necessarily affecting the survival chances of the Vajpayee Government at the Centre.

The senior `pracharak' and head of the Delhi State unit of the RSS, Mr. Satya Narayan Bansal, pointed out that in Ayodhya the Centre had under its jurisdiction and protection, land in excess of the disputed site.

``The entire site is not disputed, the Centre had acquired land adjacent to the site in the context of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's construction programme which is expected to be announced in January. The Centre can give permission for the start of construction in that portion which is not in dispute,'' Mr. Bansal said.

He was responding to a question on how the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, an RSS affiliate, would go ahead with its plans without endangering the Vajpayee Government.

He suggested that the ``entrance halls and the other areas'' of the temple could come up without disturbing the disputed site.

Mr. Bansal's view was that of the hundreds of Muslims they had approached during the `jan jagran abhiyan' of the RSS over the last two months, none had mentioned the Babri Masjid.

In short, Babri Masjid was not an issue with them, ``it is the politicians and the press which have made this a major issue,'' he said.

Mr. Bansal, who was addressing a press conference, fully approved of the Prime Minister's controversial statements which had suggested that whatever the resolution of the Ayodhya tangle, the Ram temple must come up at the disputed site and a `masjid' could be built elsewhere. ``It is a matter of national honour, we rebuilt the Somnath temple 50 years ago, and we have to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.''

The new stance is that there was no such thing as the Babri mosque, although this does not gel with the countrywide propaganda of the RSS/VHP/BJP that a Ram temple had existed at the site, it was demolished by a general of Babur, the Babri Masjid was built, and now it was time to reclaim and rebuild the site of the old Ram temple. At one point, Mr. Bansal tried to present the RSS view on the controversy as the view of all the Hindus, but when questioned repeatedly on this, he was forced to retract, admitting that there were many Hindus, perhaps a majority, which was not in agreement with the RSS or the VHP or the BJP.

The RSS presented the view that Hinduism was not a religion but only a ``way of life'' and a ``culture.''

This was what was explained to the people contacted during the `abhiyan,' he said. The RSS was neither anti-Muslim nor anti- Christian, but it was certainly against missionaries who had ``awakened anti- India sentiments in the north-east.''

He also claimed that the RSS was not against conversions, but only against conversion by fraud and material incentives.

During the `abhiyan,' some 15 lakh families in Delhi had been contacted in their homes and among the prominent personalities were Ms. Najma Heptullah, vice-chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, Mr. G. M. C. Balayogi, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr. K. P. S. Gill, former Punjab police chief, the former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, and Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress leader of the Rajya Sabha.

According to Mr. Bansal, Ms. Heptullah ``endorsed our view'' and was convinced that the RSS was not anti-Muslim, and almost all they met were ``impressed by our record of social service.''

Mr. Chandra Shekhar wanted the RSS to put more pressure on the Government on making the economic policy `swadeshi'.

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