Ludhiana, Sept 21: The VHP today asked HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi not to withdraw his resignation following the Rae Bareli court's decision to frame charges against him in the Babri Masjid demolition case and said it would welcome if Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani also quits. "I will welcome if Advani resigns on the issue," VHP senior vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore told reporters here.
Appreciating Joshi for quitting in the wake of the court's decision, he urged the HRD Minister not to withdraw his resignation "under any pressure".
Kishore, who is among the seven against whom the court decided to frame charges, said he had committed no crime. "But, if the law of the land punish me for it, I am prepared to lay down my life for the sake of the temple construction." He said all limits of patience have crossed and the VHP was no longer prepared to wait any further for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
"We have already been waiting and agitating for the last 54 years....Now the Archaeological Survey of India report has also conclusively proved that the Babri Mosque was built on the ruins of the demolished structure of a huge temple....The bluff stands finally called," Kishore said.
Speaking after presiding over a meeting of the VHP state unit here, he said courts were taking a long time in deciding the issue "and even after a decision is given by the high court, it may shift to the Supreme Court which would further delay it by any length of time". "Our Muslim brethren should accept the truth and give up their claims on Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi," Kishore said.
Asked whether the VHP's stand on the Ram temple issue would lead to disintegration of the country, Kishore said, "There is no danger to the unity and integrity of the country. Construction of Ram temple will only strengthen the country."
The VHP leader reiterated the demand for convening a joint session of Parliament with a specific purpose of enacting a legislation to facilitate the construction of the Ram temple.
Kishore said 50,000 Ram sewaks would take out a peaceful march on October 15 to the Prime Minister's residence or Parliament house.
On October 17, about 2.5 lakh VHP activists would organise a peaceful march from Lucknow to Ayodhya to hold 'parikrama' of the Ram temple, he added. Bureau Report