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N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras
Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal said on Thursday that the Ayodhya temple issue was religious, but it had been politicised.
"We will build the temple as planned in March," he said, after meeting former Tamil Nadu chief minister and ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J Jayalalithaa at her Poes Garden residence in Madras.
"The Ayodhya issue is central to the Bharatiya Janata Party agenda, but not to the National Democratic Alliance agenda," Singhal said, denying that any case was pending before the Supreme Court on the question of temple construction.
"She is god-fearing and goes to temples," Singhal said about Jayalalithaa. "Ours is a religious organisation, she is close to us," he said.
Jayalalithaa's understanding of the Ayodhya issue was better than that of most other political leaders, he added.
"It was a courtesy call," Singhal said, adding that he would be meeting other political leaders too in a bid to explain to them the VHP's stand on the Ayodhya issue.
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