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Union Minister of State for Home Affairs I D Swami on Thursday said that the government would have to arrest the Vishwa Hindu Parishad top brass if they failed to call off the Ram mandir agitation in view of the grave situation prevailing in Gujarat.
Swami told rediff.com that government was continuing efforts to persuade the VHP leadership.
"Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani have both appealed to VHP leaders to call off their plan to commence construction of the Ram mandir from March 15. The situation is volatile and things could go out of hand," Swami said.
"The Vajpayee government would not be a silent spectator like the Rao government, which allowed the kar sevaks (volunteers) to demolish the Babri mosque in 1992," he asserted.
He saw a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the attack on the Sabarmati Express.
"Gujarat has been at the receiving end of terrorist activities for the last one and a half years. If the state government refers the matter to the Union government, the CBI can investigate the incident," he said.
He said that the government's first priority is to ensure that the trouble does not spread to other parts of India.
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