Ayodhya: 'Clincher' was ASI report, says Advani

Amid contentions from some sections that the Ayodhya verdict was based on faith and not evidence, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani opn Sunday said the report of the Archeological Survey of India has been the 'clincher' in the judgement of the Allahabad high court bench.

On his blog, Advani on Sunday said, "At least in so far as the high court judgment is concerned the clincher has been the report of the Archaeological Survey of India. This is a report very painstakingly produced on the directions of the HC itself."

The Left parties, Samajwadi Party and some sections of the minority community had alleged that the court verdict had given precedence to faith over evidence.

Though efforts are on between some leaders of both the communities for a consensus and reconciliation on the issue, those opposed to the verdict are said to be mulling over approaching the Supreme Court.

Advani stated in his blog that the court and the ASI had made all efforts to find conclusive evidence. "The Ground Penetrating Radar Survey (conducted by ASI) had shown up some anomalies. So the high court directed the ASI to undertake excavations," Advani said.

On September 30, the HC gave its verdict on the Ayodhya title suit, ruling that the 2.77 acre disputed land in Ayodhya be divided into three parts among Hindus and Muslims and holding that the place where the makeshift temple of Lord Rama currently exists belongs to Hindus.

While delivering its judgment, it gave three months time to the litigants concerned to appeal to the apex court against its verdict.

Meannwhile, in the backdrop of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi equating the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha with banned Students Islamic Movement of India, Advani came to the defence of the saffron outfit lauding its role during the freedom struggle.

"I don't think any institution has influenced our society more than the RSS and Nanaji Deshmukh was one of the key motivators during the freedom struggle and post- Independence who had a great influence on people", Advani said.

He was speaking after launching a pictorial book on Deshmukh in New Delhi on the occasion of his 94th birth anniversary.

Advani's comments assume significance as it comes just days after Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi called the RSS 'fanatical' and said it was no different from banned terror outfit SIMI and that both hold 'fundamentalist' views.

"I know only that both SIMI and the RSS are fanatical and hold fundamentalist views," he had said in Bhopal last week.

Remembering the contributions of the Padma Vibhushan awardee, Advani said Deshmukh had always worked relentlessly for the society and set aside all his political ambitions for the sake of the upliftment of the rural folk.

The former Rajya Sabha member and the veteran RSS ideologue died at the Jankikunj Hospital in Satna, Madhya Pradesh in February this year at the age of 94.