New Delhi, June 26: The VHP today sought to mount pressure on BJP for bringing a legislation for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya but the party rejected the demand saying that it did not intend to force the hands of its allies. VHP vice president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told reporters after a meeting of its executive that the organisation would intensify agitations if Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed to come out in favour of a legislation for temple construction.

"Since BJP members got elected on the Ram Temple issue, they should tender their resignation if the legislation (for the construction of Ram Temple) fails in Parliament,” he said.

Kishore said that 125 MPs from Biju Janata Dal, BJP and Shiv Sena have already signed in favour of construction of the Ram Temple and added if the prime minister did not sign in favour of that, a massive meeting could also be organised in his Lok Sabha constituency Lucknow.

"He might be the prime minister in his cabinet but in his constituency he is only an MP like others. Then why will he be an exception?,” Kishore said.

From the beginning, Vajpayee was not associated with the temple movement, he alleged adding a `jan jagaran andolan` would be launched from July 10.

In Chennai, BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu ruled out bringing a law for temple construction in ayodhya saying, "We do not want to force our allies with the legislation.”

Naidu told reporters that BJP would not deviate from the NDA agenda and VHP should understand BJP`s position on this.

Welcoming the initiative taken by the seer of Kanchi Mutt Jayendra Saraswathi to resolve the Ayodhya tangle, he said, in an apparent bid to placate VHP`s feeling of being bypassed on the issue, that everybody involved in the issue would be involved in the negotiations.
There was no question of bypassing anybody, he said.


Bureau Report