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Rediff.com  » News » Ayodhya Rath Yatra was not anti-Muslim: Advani

Ayodhya Rath Yatra was not anti-Muslim: Advani

Source: PTI
January 24, 2009 01:43 IST
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With only around 100 days away from the Lok Sabha polls, senior BJP leader L K Advani has used his Urdu website to reach out to Muslims to say he is in no way related to the Babri Masjid demolition.

In a writing posted in Urdu in his website he says, 'Kya meri yatra Muslim Mukhalif thi, bilkul nahi (Was my yatra against the Muslims? No, never!)'

He asks Muslims in his website to vote in Lok Sabha polls considering the "supreme national interests" and not to be carried away by "motivated" campaigns of any party.

He says it was propaganda of his opposition parties to malign the Somnath-Ayodhya Rath Yatra of 1991 as being against the Muslim minority.

"No anti-Muslim or wrong word was uttered in my speeches. In fact, I used to stop those who chanted any wrong slogans," Advani writes.

The BJP leader says he can never be an anti-Muslim but will always oppose any move which undermines the majority 82 per cent in the country.

Advani claims that no incident of communal violence happened on way of his Yatra adding, "I was hurt when some section of the media quoted my yatra to be a bloody journey".

He reiterates in his website that he was unaware of any plan to destroy the disputed structure on December 6, 1992.

"We were unaware of what was happening. We appealed to the kar sevaks on the domb to get down," he writes.

Stating that Hindu society is a tolerant one, he adds, "I would be very sad if Hindus leave the virtue of tolerance but I would be saddest if someone attributes this virtue to be a weakness."

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