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Ayodhya campaign will subside: Mahajan

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan feels that the Opposition campaign for pressing for the resignation of the three Union ministers chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation for the demolition of the Babri Masjid will subside in a few days because it lacks unity.

"I think the Opposition parties raise this issue from time to time. However, some of them are blaming each other on the issue and they lack unity. Their campaign will not last for long and it will subside soon," Mahajan told rediff.com.

Both Houses were adjourned for the entire day without conducting business. Speaker G M C Balyogi and Chairman Krishna Kant found it impossible to conduct business as Opposition members in both Houses shouted for the resignations of Lal Kishenchand Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati , chargesheeted for the demolition of the mosque.

Significantly, the Congress and Samajwadi party are trying to extract maximum political mileage from the 'secular card' by trying to press for the three ministers' resignations, which has been rejected by the government.

When Samajwadi Party members raise the issue of the three ministers' resignations in the Houses, their Congress counterparts resume their seats. And when Congress members raise the issue, SP members sit down in silence.

"It is as if there is an unwritten understanding between these parties that when one raises the issue (of resignations), the other will sit down and allow the other to speak," felt BJP Lok Sabha member from Ranchi parliamentary constituency Ram Tahal Chaudhary.

" Yes, barring the lung power utilised by the Samajwadi Party and Congress benches, the campaign lacks steam. Soon, the good offices of Balyogi and Kant will be sought by all to break the impasse," said BJP national secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday, when told by a reporter that the Narasimha Rao government was in power at the Centre when the demolition occurred, contended that "all this is old stuff".

"This issue has been debated frequently and our party maintains that law and order is a state subject (the BJP Kalyan Singh government was in power then in Uttar Pradesh)," he pointed out.

Significantly, the Vajpayee government's alliance partners like the Trinamul Congress and Telugu Desam Party maintained a low profile on Wednesday.

"We condemn any atrocities committed on minorities and their interests. Respect for the religious feelings of all Indians is guaranteed in the Constitution," pointed out Trinamul Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandopadhyay.

However, there was no reference to the vandalism in Ayodhya eight years ago that damaged India's secular fabric.

"We will not tolerate any atrocity or injustice against minorities who are an important segment of our voters," TDP Lok Sabha member Yerran Naidu pointed out.

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