Mosque near river: Gadkari -Oct. 2/2010

Mosque near river: Gadkari

RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, Oct. 2: BJP chief Nitin Gadkari has signalled his party will back any central initiative to resolve the Ayodhya tangle, including the construction of a “grand” mosque along the Saryu in the town.

The stance appears like a concession against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s position that no mosque should come up within Ayodhya’s “cultural borders” — effectively its municipal limits. But by suggesting that the mosque be built along the Saryu, Gadkari has effectively asked Muslims to relinquish the third of the disputed Ayodhya plot awarded to them in the judgment.

“Instead of going to the Supreme Court (as the Sunni Central Wakf Board has said), if we can solve this problem in a spirit of consensus and reconciliation, that would be good. We should be large-hearted enough to find a way out as the heart of the matter (that the contentious plot was indeed Ram’s birthplace) has been decided,” Gadkari told a TV channel tonight.

But the BJP chief avoided a straight answer when asked about an alternative proposal — if he would endorse a mosque on the third of the land awarded to the wakf board. “Let non-political principals find a peaceful settlement, I mean our committee of sants and Muslim leaders.”

Gadkari recounted having himself said that if a mosque were built along the Saryu, there would be no dispute. “The BJP will also contribute to its construction, I have said this before,” said Gadkari, who had to take back the suggestion in the face of opposition from the VHP which saw the plan as a climbdown.

Asked why he had chosen to restate a rejected position, a source close to Gadkari said: “The RSS chief showed the way by emphasising that it (the verdict) had opened up the way for reconciliation. The underpinning of our movement, that the disputed plot is Ram’s birthplace, has got a legal stamp. Now it doesn’t matter where a mosque comes up.”