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Banatwala asks Centre to ban temple construction

Indian Union Muslim League's all-india president G M Banatwala has demanded that the Union government ban all activities in connection with the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and impound all materials kept for the purpose.

Talking to the media in Madras, he expressed serious concern over the speedy and largescale preparations that were going on in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Ayodhya for the construction of the temple. If the Centre failed to act, there would be a threat to the rule of law and the sanctity of the judiciary in our country, he said.

Banatwala said the government could not remain idle by stating that the Supreme Court order to maintain status quo at the disputed site had not been violated, as the Sangh Parivar and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were capable of building the temple within a day or two by fabricating all the readymade materials.

"Let there not be another black day like December 6, 1992, when the Babri masjid was pulled down," he warned.

Referring to the open declarations of the Sangh Parivar and the VHP, that preparations were on for the construction of the Ram temple and that they did not care for the judiciary, Banatwala said this kind of provocation was detrimental to communal harmony.

Terming the Prevention Of Terrorist Activities bill passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly as "draconian and undemocratic", he said the Act was worse than the defunct Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and demanded that the state government withdraw it.

He also urged the President not to give his consent to the bill, which the state government had brought forward out of political compulsions. Union Home Minister L K Advani was happy over the passage of the bill as it was aimed at satisfying fascist forces like the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Thanking the Centre for extending the term of the Liberhan Commission probing the demolition of Babri masjid, he urged the Vajpayee government to co-operate with the Commission in completing the probe expeditiously. Many people summoned by the Commission had obtained a stay from the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, but the Centre, during the last four years, did nothing to vacate the stay, he regretted.

On the demand for the dismissal of the DMK government in the state, he said his party was against invocation of Article 356 to dismiss an elected government. THE central team deputed by Advani had given a clean chit to the state government after reviewing the law and order situation. The Central teams should be sent to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, where the law and order situation was worse than in other states, he added.

UNI

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