Sena chief now wants memorial

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray has suggested the construction of a memorial after freedom fighter Mangal Pandey at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

"Give land for the Babri Masjid somewhere else. We need land somewhere near the original Ram Mandir. Build a national memorial on that site and name it after Mangal Pandey, who fired the first shot against the British for our Independence," Thackeray said in an interview to the Hindi service of BBC Radio here, when asked what his solution was to the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid problem.

"Let all come and visit that place and know that the young man who fired the first shot at Britishers was Mangal Pandey," he said.

Thackeray added that the courts should take an early decision on the basis of whatever evidence they have.