Fresh tensions surface within ruling NDA on Ayodhya issue

“If anyone tries to deviate from the NDA agenda, we will be the last to tolerate it,” she said adding her party favoured a status quo on the masjid issue. She also disagreed with the Prime Minister’s statement that temple construction was an expression of national sentiment.

K Yerran Naidu, leader of another major ally, TDP, which supports the Government from outside, sharply attacked the BJP chief for his remarks in interviews to newspapers that the Lok Sabha rejection of the censure motion was an endorsement of the Ram temple movement and even if the courts decided in favour of masjid, the Ram temple there could not be disturbed.

“It was highly improper to interpret the Lok Sabha verdict on the Congress motion which only related to the resignation of the three Union Ministers as an endorsement for building Ram mandir on the disputed site,” he said.

Describing Laxman’s observations as “wrong”, Naidu said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had clearly stated on the floor of the House that the NDA Government would be bound by the court verdict on the Ayodhya issue.

“But the BJP president has chosen to take a different view of the dispute is inexplicable and is not in tune with the spirit of NDA agreement and agenda,” said Naidu, whose party is extending crucial outside support to the ruling coalition at the Centre.

Naidu said all parties which were members in the NDA and other supporters should desist from making any controversial statement or observation on sensitive issues.

TDP has been exercised over the controversial statements of Prime Minister last week and was acting in coordination with other allies like Trinamool Congress and DMK to get Vajpayee say that the Government would stick to its secular agenda.

He said the TDP would act as a “watch-dog” and would not “spare” the Government if it deviated from the secular agenda.

However, Laxman, the man at the centre of the controversy, today sought to play down his reported controversial remarks saying he was being “quoted out of context in the media”.