Shri Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena President, has proposed that a national monument should be constructed on the Babari Masjid site and the Hindus and Muslims should be given plots elsewhere to build the Ram Temple and a Masjid.

Shri Thackeray's statement wholly demolishes the assertion by the Sangh Parivar that the Babari Masjid site is the birth site of Shri Ram Chandraji and, therefore, unique and special and that the proposed Ram Janambhoomi Mandir must be built on the Babari Masjid site.

As for the Ram Mandir the Muslims have no objection, and never had, to the construction of yet another Mandir in Ayodhya, so long as it is not built on the Babari Masjid site. Indeed they had offered a part of the disputed Wakf land, east of the Babari Masjid, to save the Masjid. It is this land on which first the Shilanyas was done and then the concrete platform was constructed, in violation of the status quo orders.

As for another Masjid, there are almost a score of Masjids already in Ayodhya. The Muslims do not need another. However, a Masjid standing next to the Ram Mandir will be an expression of national reconciliation and integration.

Regarding the proposed national monument Shri Thackeray has not clarified its nature. The Babari Masjid was a small Masjid, with plinth area of about 80' X 80'. Today on this site stands a "make-shift temple" which was unlawfully constructed on its debris. The first step is to remove it, demarcate the site and mark it with an inscription saying: "On this site stood Babari Masjid which was built in 1528 and was demolished in 1992". This would serve as an adequate monument to the tragic events, till there is a final settlement.

To sum up, Shri Thackeray's statement may well serve as a starting point for fresh consideration by all concerned of the issues involved in the Babari Masjid question, if the Sangh Parivar, and particularly the VHP, agree.

Vajpayee's Response

BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee said on Wednesday that we welcomed the suggestion by Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray to build a national monument at Ayodhya. He added that  the supported any attempt to arrive at an amicable solution to the vexed issue. ... "

(Source: The Times of India, 15 January, 1998)