VHP sets new temple deadline

Mounting a renewed offensive on the Government, the VHP today served an ultimatum to it to return the 8216;8216;undisputed8217;8217; land acquired by the Centre at Ayodhya before February 22 or face confrontation.

It also stepped up criticism of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee over his definition of Hindutva in his Goa musings, charging him indirectly with adopting 8216;8216;pseudo-Hindutva8217;8217; and asserting that 8216;8216;politicians who are ready to strike any deal for the sake of power have no right to make such comments8217;8217;.

The Parishad was joined by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray from Mumbai, who again accused the BJP of speaking in 8216;8216;different voices8217;8217; over Hindutva.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, VHP vice-president Giriraj Kishore said: 8216;8216;The Margdarshak Mandal is meeting on February 21, while the Dharam Sansad is meeting from February 22 to 24 to discuss the Ayodhya issue. We demand that our land be returned to us before that.8217;8217;

Asked about similar announcements made by the VHP last year ahead of its much-hyped shila daan on March 15, he said: 8216;8216;We were cheated by the Government at that time. This time we are prepared for the worst.8217;8217;

Indicating there would be no let-up in the VHP8217;s criticism of the PM over Hindutva, Kishore said: 8216;8216;A person who is neither with the Opposition nor with the people, on whose side he is supposed to be, can be only described as a votary of pseudo-Hindutva.8217;8217;

Asked why he was shy of naming the person he was describing, Kishore said: 8216;8216;Just as he talked of Hindutva without naming us, I am not naming him.8217;8217;

He also extended his ire to include Deputy PM L.K. Advani, saying: 8216;8216;As a politician, I don8217;t have faith in him.8217;8217;

BJP general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi tried to put a brave front on the onslaught. 8216;8216;What the PM has said is in keeping with the party8217;s views on Hindutva and this has completely unnerved our opponents who are now trying to find fault with our concept of cultural nationalism,8217;8217; he claimed. Asked who had used the word Hindutva first, Naqvi said: 8216;8216;Rabindranath Tagore.8217;8217;

Thackeray criticised the BJP for 8216;8216;saying one thing at their chintan baithak and another outside8230;Advani says one thing while others say something else.8217;8217; Brushing aside Vajpayee8217;s emphasis on tolerance, he said: 8216;8216;Everything has a limit. Are we supposed to continue displaying tolerance even in the face of attacks on temples?8217;8217; The Shiv Sena, he underlined, had never deviated from Hindutva 8216;8216;unlike the BJP8217;8217;.

Kishore too said 8216;8216;Hindus are neither rigid, nor fanatic8217;8217; and 8216;8216;it is wrong to call reaction to an action fanaticism8217;8217;.

Asked if the VHP plan for temple construction would not attract court action, Kishore said: 8216;8216;At worst we would be jailed or made to face bullets. What else?8217;8217;