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Ayodhya land will be ours: VHP

By Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
March 27, 2003 21:15 IST

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday said it was determined to procure both the disputed and undisputed part of the acquired land in Ayodhya for the purpose of building the Ram temple.

"The VHP is determined to procure both because the government has not lived up to our expectation that the undisputed land would be given to us before March 27," VHP vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore said.

He was briefing newsmen soon after the party commenced a satyagraha which will continue till April 2 to generate awareness for the building of the temple in Ayodhya.

He said there would not be any more dharam sansads [religious gathering] and the VHP campaign would be extended to the remotest villages.

Kishore said the continuing agitation for the temple was the first phase of its campaign. The second phase would include party activists approaching all members of parliament to collect their signature in favour of building the temple.

"We will approach the Muslims also," he said, adding that the government's refusal either to frame a law for building the temple or helping the VHP in any other way in this context was instrumental in its decision today.

He claimed that 37,193 VHP activists had been arrested during the Satyagraha, which was addressed by the chief of the Ramjanam Bhoomi Nyas Mahant Ramchandra Das Paramhans, BJP parliamentarian Chinmayananda, party leaders Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Ashok Singhal and others.

He later said the party would launch an agiation on Friday for the release of Acharya Dharmendra who had been taken into custody for allegedly giving an inflammatory speech.

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

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