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I don't know how Babri masjid fell: Joshi

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Human Resources Development Minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Monday said he did not know how the disputed structure at Ayodhya came down on December 6, 1992 as he was standing away from the scene of occurrence.

"I did not know how it came down. I was standing such a distance from the scene of occurrence", Dr Joshi said, when reporters asked him in Trivandrum about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan's contention that the Masjid was brought down by an explosion from within the structure.

"It is very difficult to say what really happened. It is for the investigative agencies and the government machinery to bring out the truth", he said.

About the opposition demand for his resignation, as he figured in the chargesheet in the demolition case, Dr Joshi said the prime minister had already made his position clear.

The issue had been sorted out in the National Democratic Alliance. The government was prepared for a discussion in Parliament. What could one do if the opposition stuck to its plan to stall proceedings, he asked.

He said it had been made clear time and again that Ayodhya was not in the national agenda of the NDA.

On the controversy over the prime minister's statement on Ayodhya, he said, "Everybody interpreted it in a particular manner. When NDA partners sat together, the differences were resolved. The NDA will continue as a solid coalition."

Asked if the BJP was not backtracking on the Ram temple as the party was now a 'prisoner' of its allies, he said, "The BJP is a partner in the alliance, not a prisoner."

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