Step down, VHP tells Vajpayee

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday asked Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to step down for his failure to bring in a law for construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya

"They have told the people that they would bring in a legislation. Now they must tell the people that the government does not have the majority. So they should resign and seek fresh mandate," the outfit's international president Ashok Singhal said.

Legislation, he added, was the only way to solve the Ayodhya issue.

"Bring in a legislation in Parliament. It is not a small issue," he said, when asked whether the court verdict in the matter was acceptable to the VHP or not.

Maintaining that Kanchi Shankaracharya's initiative was not in the right direction, Singhal said, "Talking to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board was a great injustice to the Hindu community as these people do not believe in the Constitution and law of the land."