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This is an archive article published on December 17, 1998

quot;SC should find out temple8217;s existencequot;

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani today said that the Supreme Court should be asked to decide whether a temple existed ...

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NEW DELHI, Dec 16: Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani today said that the Supreme Court should be asked to decide whether a temple existed at the disputed site. According to him, this would help matters since the religious position by the the Grand Imam of Kaaba had been made clear when he had said that if there really was a temple at Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood, that site could not be used for a mosque, and should be handed over to the Hindus.

Advani was delivering the third Durga Das Memorial lecture on India 8211; its Unity, Integrity and Security8217; where he hinted at a possible resolution of the ongoing debate.

8220;This was a solution which was suggested by Rafiq Zakaria, a veteran Congressmen when he had come to see me about six years ago. All this while I kept quiet about it but now I feel that this suggestion merits a serious debate,8221;said Advani.

He expressed happiness over the fact that distinguished judges of the Supreme Court were present in the audience. 8220;There need not be any legalquibbling about it: Whether the reference should be under this or that article of the Constitution. The judges should be requested to determine the fact of the temple8217;s existence. The religious position is clear,8221; he said quoting Zakaria.

8220;Though the National Agenda for Governance had consciously kept the Ayodhya issue out of its perview, our government will welcome any initiative to amicably resolve the issue,8221; he said.

He expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that his statement on December 6 1998 expressing unhappiness over the incident six years ago were seen as belated wisdom. 8220;Some even insinuated that my statement were insincere but I will remind them of the article which I had written immediately after my arrest in The Indian Express,8221; he said quoting the lines which had said 8220;It was the most depressing day of my life8221; and he had felt 8220;dejected and downcast8221;.

He, however, clarified that the Ayodhya movement had made strides in promoting secularism but not the Ayodhyaincident.

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In an unusually candid mood, he said that he been constantly attacked by the opposition in the Parliament about the minorities feeling insecure. 8220;The seeds were sown by the Muslim leaders before the Partition when they had instilled a feeling in the Muslims that the Gandhiji8217;s and Nehruji8217;s India would be unsafe for them. They were accusing the senior Congress leaders of the same thing,8221; he said.

His speech was peppered with the world secularism8217; and how his ideology was basically one Nation and one Culture. 8220;Can hue and cry over Sanskrit and lighting of lamps be justified? We have been surviving on a vague idea of secularism where the country parts away with there culture,8221; he said.

He admitted that the country could not be categorically said that it was secure as internal security is now inextricably linked to border security. Advani reassured all the minorities that his ideology has equal respect for all religion.

 

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