Uma unperturbed, says 'ready to sacrifice life for Ram temple'

Unfazed by the apex court order that she be tried for "conspiracy" in the Babri mosque demolition case, Union minister Uma Bharti today said she is ready to sacrifice her life for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"Grand Ram temple in Ayodhya is my dream. Ready to go to prison or be hanged for India and Ram Mandir," the senior BJP leader told reporters here. Bharti, who said she would go to Ayodhya on Wednesday night, cancelled her visit apparently after being advised by the party leadership.

Asserting she was "proud, unapologetic" and does not repent her role in the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign, Bharti said she is ready to face whatever punishments come her way as she fights for the construction of Ram temple.

The Water Resources Minister was speaking after the Supreme Court allowed the CBI's plea seeking trail under "conspiracy" charges against BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and her in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.

She dismissed the conspiracy charges.

"There was no conspiracy. Everything was in the open. I took part in Ram temple campaign with pride and confidence. I had given up the post of Chief Minister for the sake of the tri-colour.

"I will do whatever it takes to see the Ram temple is constructed...Ram temple will be built, koi maai ka laal use rok nahi sakta (no one has the power to stop it from being built)," Bharti said, adding she was present at the mosque site on December 6, 1992.

Hitting out at the Congress for seeking her resignation, Bharti referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and claimed that then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had sought to justify the killings post the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

"When thousands of Sikhs died in the riots, Sonia Gandhi was at the house of her husband. Rajiv was trying to justify the massacre.

"So, can we say she was part of a conspiracy? The Congress has no moral right to seek my resignation," she said.

At the same time, Bharti said she is not the type of a person who want to sticks to any post and recalled she had quit chief ministership in Madhya Pradesh over a decade ago after a court convicted her in a case involving the national flag.

"I gave up the chief minister's post after a court convicted me. In this (Ayodhya) case, the trial is yet to begin. The charges are yet to be proved," she said but added, "The post of a minister is too small for me."