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TDP, Trinamul warn against puja at Ayodhya site

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Telugu Desam Party, the most important ally of the ruling National Democratic Front, and the Trinamul Congress, a member of the NDA, again warned the government on Monday that it must take effective steps to ensure that the status quo in Ayodhya is not disturbed.

Though Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee told the Lok Sabha that his government would not allow any activity on the land acquired by the Centre pending a court verdict, K Yerran Naidu, TDP leader in the House, said the position must be clarified.

He pointed out that while the government had announced that it would disallow any activity at the disputed site, Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's instructions to some state officials had "created confusion".

Yerran Naidu said there should be no ambiguity in the government's resolve to enforce the status quo in Ayodhya.

Trinamul Congress president Mamata Banerjee also said the status quo must be maintained to ensure communal harmony throughout the country.

She, however, used the occasion to attack the Left Front government led by the Communist Party of India, Marxist, in West Bengal, accusing it of terrorizing people.

She was referring to Sunday's incident in Kolkata where two karsevaks bound for Ayodhya were shot dead by the state police.

Defending the government's stand, Bharatiya Janata Party member Vinay Katiyar said apprehensions of the bhoomi puja being performed at the undisputed site in Ayodhya were misplaced.

But Shiv Sena member Mohan Rawle caused some protests from the Opposition benches when, referring to their criticism of the proposed puja, he asked Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed, "Sir, are we living in Pakistan or India?"

Contending that "worshipping Hindu gods is not a crime", he said, "If we [Hindus] don't worship Ram in Ayodhya, will we worship Allah?"

Rawle asked Indian Union Muslim League member G M Banatwala to answer his query even as the deputy speaker tried to restore order.

Earlier, Opposition members like Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party) and Priyaranjan Dasmunshi (Congress) had clashed with the Treasury benches over Ayodhya, following which Vajpayee made his clarification.

The Ayodhya Issue: Complete Coverage

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