Press Statement
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Serious Provocation At Ayodhya
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have once again blatantly defied the law and conducted illegal activities in Ayodhya with the state government and the administration looking on. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal workers led by Ashok Singhal and other leaders entered the Babri Masjid site in which the makeshift temple stands and performed religious ceremonies in defiance of the Supreme Court directive. They were allowed to do so without hindrance and none of them were arrested afterwards. The site is under the control of the central government. The BJP-led government both in UP and the Centre have to answer for this provocative and illegal act.
The activities now being indulged in by the VHP regarding the Ayodhya dispute have received encouragement from the Prime Minister’s statement some time back in Lucknow when he claimed that a solution would be found by March 2002 and talks were on for this purpose. The Prime Minister has followed this up by reviving the Ayodhya cell in the PMO after a meeting with top VHP leaders.
The BJP-RSS combine has embarked upon a deliberate campaign of provocative speeches and acts regarding the Ayodhya issue with a view to create communal polarisation to pursue its narrow electoral aims in Uttar Pradesh. The responsibility for worsening the communal situation is thus squarely upon the VHP and its patrons in the BJP-RSS combine.
The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) demands immediate steps to arrest of those who have committed this provocative act under the relevant provisions of the law. The Home Minister has to be accountable for such activities at the site which is under the jurisdiction of the Centre.