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Rajya Sabha censures
govt on Ayodhya: PTI

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee asserted during the debate that Ayodhya was a "movement" and appealed to Opposition parties not to politicise the issue for electoral gains, as it would only divide the country.

Replying to a two-day discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Congress-sponsored nine-party motion on Ayodhya, Vajpayee also warned that any communalisation of the issue would only create fresh tension.

"Let Ayodhya not divide us," he said, assuring the Opposition that the government would abide by the verdict of the Supreme Court on the issue if political parties wanted.

Vajpayee made it clear that NDA government was committed to the national agenda of governance, which had kept out such contentious issues and rejected once again the demand for the resignation of three charge-sheeted ministers in the Ayodhya demolition case.

On the demand for the resignation of L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, Vajpayee said if anybody was implicated in a court case, he should resign, but in the case of Ayodhya, there was a "difference".

"Ayodhya is a movement. A movement which was being sought to be opposed by you (Opposition)," he said amid shouts of 'Shame, shame' from Opposition benches.

The Ayodhya case should be differentiated, Vajpayee said, adding he was willing to sit with the Opposition to evolve parameters for ministers to resign on the question of propriety.

"Parameters should be uniform," he said, adding that there cannot be one set of rules for the three Union ministers and another for Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Denying that he had ever made a statement that the Ram temple be constructed at the disputed site at Ayodhya, Vajpayee said he also never supported the demolition of the Babri masjid.

"Neither when the structure was demolished on December 6, 1992 nor any time later did I ever favour its demolition,'' he said, adding, "I have always criticised the incident (demolition)."

Reiterating that there were only two possible solutions to the issue, Vajpayee renewed his appeal to the Hindu and Muslim communities to come for a dialogue to find a solution to the contentious issue.

"I am ready for a dialogue on this issue without pre-conditions," he said.

Vajpayee said it was regrettable that the agitation on Ayodhya, which started as a movement, took an ugly communal turn after the demolition of the Babri masjid.

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