'Insiders' foiled Vajpayee's plans to build Ram temple: Katiyar

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar on Saturday said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prevented from going ahead with the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya by some "insiders".

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar on Saturday said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prevented from going ahead with the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya by some "insiders".

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"I am fully aware that Vajpayee was all set to remove various hurdles and pave way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya; but some people who were bent upon not letting him get the credit for the gigantic task, did not let him have his way," Katiyar told journalists in Etah, in a brief halt after addressing a convention of the BJP state women's wing in Aligarh.

Katiyar, who had been at the forefront of the Ayodhya temple movement as founder president of Bajrang Dal, said: "Vajpayee had worked out a smooth solution for the construction of the much debated temple and but for the hurdles created by certain leaders, he would have ensured its completion during his stint as prime minister."

He however refused to divulge the names of the leaders whom he accused to putting the stumbling blocks in Vajpayee's path. "I will name those leaders at an appropriate time," he said.

Asked when that appropriate time would be, Katiyar said: "Well not very far from now."