Vajpayee rejects Ayodhya criticism

A 16th-Century mosque had stood at the site

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has rejected criticism that he has changed his position on a dispute over religious land at Ayodhya.

Mr Vajpayee told parliament that the courts or negotiations between Hindus and Muslims should resolve the issue.

Last Friday he had told mourners at the funeral of a Hindu religious leader that he would fulfil the dying man's wish by building a temple on the disputed site.

He was speaking at the funeral in Ayodhya of Ramchandra Das Paramhans, who spearheaded a hardline Hindu campaign to build the temple on the site where a 16th-Century mosque once stood.

Thousands of people, mainly Muslims, died in religious violence all across India when a crowd of Hindus tore down the mosque in December, 1992.

Heated debate

In an often acrimonious debate in parliament on Monday, Mr Vajpayee said he was not under pressure from any group to push for the construction of a temple.

Mr Vajpayee's comments were made during the funeral of a Hindu leader

"If I feel I have to act under pressure, I will leave the office" of prime minister, he said.

The Ayodhya temple campaign was spearheaded by right-wing Hindu groups closely affiliated to the BJP and was partly responsible for the sudden rise in the party's fortunes in the 1990s.

The site, holy to both Hindus and Muslims, has been a constant source of religious clashes.

In recent weeks the BJP has come under pressure from right-wing Hindu nationalists to try to implement a law to ensure the temple can be built.

A new law would bypass the courts which have failed to bring about a resolution to the problem.

Controversial comments

On Friday, at the funeral of Ramchandra Das Paramhans, Mr Vajpayee appeared to suggest he was in favour of such a move.

"I'm confident all hurdles in the path of construction of the temple will be removed and the temple will be built," he said.

"Nothing is impossible," Mr Vajpayee told devotees on the banks of the Sarya river as the 92-year-old cleric was cremated.

"Everyone should try to fulfil his dream. I shall fulfil his last wish. I make this commitment in front of his funeral fire and ashes."

An archaeological dig is under way at the site to try to determine whether a Hindu temple did once exist on the site of the destroyed mosque.

Earlier this month the high court in the city of Lucknow gave archaeologists working at the site five more weeks to carry out their investigations and another two weeks to complete their report.