Former Nagpur Member of Parliament, Banwarilal Purohit, created a flutter today by “revealing” what he claims is the truth about late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s stand on the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

“In 1989, Rajiv met the then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras through an emissary, seeking RSS support in elections in exchange for paving the way for construction of the Ram temple,” Purohit said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Purohit said he was revealing this in view of the “fantastic” claims made by Rahul Gandhi about the Gandhi parivar’s stand on the Babri issue. “Rahul does not know the facts of history. I had kept this part of Babri history close to my heart, keeping in mind the larger national interest. But now, I think it is about time I put facts before the nation in larger public interest,” Purohit said.

“When too many outlandish claims are made and it leads to distortion of public opinion, it becomes a bounden duty of knowledgeable people to reveal the truth in the larger public interest,” Purohit said.

“I had taken a pro-Ram temple stand in Parliament and had felt that the Ram temple was necessary to correct a historical blunder. Rajiv Gandhi had asked me if I knew the top RSS brass. When I told him that I did, he suggested to take his missive to Deoras,” Purohit said. “He asked if the RSS would support the Congress in the elections if the Ram temple is assured. I said, it would. So, it was decided to meet Deoras. Since, my meeting Deoras would have become known to people, it was decided to send former Union Minister Bhanu Prakash Singh as Rajiv’s emissary,” he further said.

... contd.