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Indian Government Under Fire Over Razing Of Mosque
by Elizabeth Roche
NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday came under attack in parliament for his perceived support for a Hindu temple on the site of an historic mosque razed by Hindu fanatics in 1992.
A fractious opposition joined forces to launch the attacks during a crucial debate on the alleged involvement of three key Hindu nationalist ministers in the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque.
Jaipal Reddy of the main opposition Congress party said the prime minister "had no moral right to continue in office" if he refused to sack his three colleagues.
Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Sports Minister Uma Bharti and Human Resources Minister Murli Manohar Joshi have all been cited by a federal investigation for their links to the demolition of the 16th century mosque.
The incident led to nationwide sectarian riots in which 2,000 people were killed.
Vajpayee's recent comments that the campaign for a Hindu temple on the Babri ruins was an expression of "nationalist sentiments" also drew flak in the parliament's 545-seat lower house on Wednesday.
Calling for Vajpayee's resignation, Reddy added that the premier's comments were "not a slip of tongue but a slip of his mask."
Communist leader Somnath Chatterjee accused Vajpayee of trying to subvert the national law by trying to exonerate the three ministers.
"Vajpayee's remarks on the construction of the temple had complicated the matter, triggering disturbances at places and causing impasse in parliament," Chatterjee said.
Vajpayee, "representing a miniscule section of Hindu community", should not have made such remarks on the temple issue, he added.
Indian Law Minister Arun Jaitley rose in defense of the government, saying the Congress party was behind a plot to implicate the three ministers.
He argued the media was present at the site during the Babri demolition.
"The Vajpayee government's stand is an illustration of its commitment to the rule of law although there are several instances in the past when governments have withdrawn cases against those holding offices," he said.
Debate over the controversy has jammed work in parliament's lower house for the past nine days. On Tuesday, a truce was called on the condition that Vajpayee face the debate.
However, on Wednesday, the pact was ignored by the parliament's upper house, where members shouted slogans and disrupted daily business.
Political analysts said Vajpayee, who heads a coalition government, would face embarrassment if some of his political allies abstain during a censure vote on Thursday.
Opposition MPs have also demanded that Vajpayee explain his remarks on the Hindu temple-building drive in the northern pilgrimage town of Ayodhya.
"The opposition is united in its demand that the ministers resign," a senior leader from India's main communist party, Somnath Chatterjee, said.
Since the Vajpayee coalition has a majority in the lower house, there was no immediate danger to the government's survival, analysts said.
But several key coalition parties are reported to be upset with Vajpayee's statement that the temple campaign was an "unfinished" national task.
One political expert said politically dangerous fissures in the ruling party could be exposed if the allies refrain from voting.
"If the TDP party, which is the largest party supporting Vajpayee, abstains from the voting, then it could have an impact on the stability of the coalition in the future," Mahesh Rangarajan said.
According to other political analysts, pressures from within his BJP party prompted Vajpayee’s statement last week.
Even before Wednesday's debate began, there were rumors that Advani, the number two in the government, had threatened to resign due to a lack of support from Vajpayee over opposition calls for him to quit.
One theory was that hardline Hindu groups perceive Vajpayee, widely regarded as a moderate in his Hindu nationalist BJP party, as soft on fundamental issues and want Advani to be prime minister.
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