Bhopal, Feb. 5: The Basant Panchami crisis having blown over, the BJP is now trying to placate Hindutva outfits, saying it will urge the Centre to give an “alternative site” to Muslims to end the Ayodhya-like tension in Bhojshala.

State minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who camped in Dhar last Friday to ensure that Basant Panchami prayers were conducted peacefully, said: “The ASI’s arrangements have been unfair. We would do everything necessary to ensure that Bhojshala is restored to Hindus, and Muslims are given an alternative site nearby.”

He said Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan will write to the Centre on this.

Vijayvargiya’s remark came barely minutes after the Hindu Jagran Manch accused Chauhan of acting against the “interests” of the majority community.

Last Friday, when devotees led by the Manch refused to vacate the shrine after prayers, police were called in and a mild lathicharge followed. A curfew was also clamped in some sensitive areas of Dhar.

Yesterday, the Manch, the Durga Vahini and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad held a “dharma sammelan” in Dhar to protest the police action.

The Bhojshala shrine, which Hindus believe is a temple to Goddess Saraswati and Muslims consider a mosque, is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Hindus are allowed to pray there on Tuesdays and Muslims on Fridays. On Basant Panchami, too, Hindus are allowed to do puja. This year, it fell on February 3, a Friday, sparking debate on which community should be allowed to pray.

As a solution, different timings were allotted for puja and Juma namaz.

Vijayvargiya’s remarks today drew flak from both Hindu and Muslim leaders.

Prahlad Patel, a close associate of Uma Bharti and a former Union minister, said: “His (Vijayvargiya’s) comment smacks of pseudo-secularism. What happened on February 3 was a sham.

“The Shivraj Chauhan government managed to survive but it lost the faith of the voters who had brought the BJP to power. The people of Madhya Pradesh are extremely hurt and angry with the BJP’s handling of the situation in Dhar.”

Jamuna Devi, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, also chided Vijayvargiya. She said the BJP leader was perhaps unaware that the permission for Friday prayers to Muslims and Basant Panchami puja to Hindus was issued by Jagmohan, who was the Union culture minister in the NDA government. “We are opposed to the suggestion of an alternative site,” she said.

Mufti Abdul Razzak of Bhopal said: “At a time when the government did reasonably well in handling the Dhar situation, such remarks amount to a flip-flop.” The BJP regime was trying to hoodwink people by promising a change in status when it is legally not possible, he said. “You can’t change history, can you?” he asked.