The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy against Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, HRD Minister M M Joshi and other BJP leaders in the Ayodhya demolition case in a special CBI court in Rae Bareli, counsel for one of the accused said on Saturday.

CBI, the investigating agency, did not find any evidence against the eight accused under Section 120-B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) and therefore it has dropped the charge against them in the case, the counsel for one of the accused Mridul Rakesh said.

The charge was dropped in a supplementary chargesheet filed by CBI on May 31 against LK Advani, Joshi, Uma Bharti and five others, he said.

Initially, Section 120-B was not included in the case filed against the eight accused on the basis of FIRs (no.197 and 198/92) registered on December 6, 1992 after the demolition of Babri Mosque. But during the course of its investigations the CBI had included the section in the combined chargesheet.

"Now with the dropping of criminal conspiracy charge from the CBI supplementary chargsheet against the eight accused, the only charges that remain against them are under Sections 153-A, 153-B (spreading communal frenzy 147, 149 (rioting/ committing a crime) and 505 (creating ill will).

Meanwhile, the BJP on Saturday supported the Sangh Parivar demand for a legislation to construct Ram temple in Ayodhya but said that its passage would not be possible in Parliament without the support of NDA allies and Congress.

In its much awaited resolution on Ayodhya, adopted on the second day of the party's national executive in Raipur, BJP said that even though the common agenda of NDA makes no mention of a legislative initiative to resolve the temple issue, the party was of the view that this alternative should be explored, highly placed party sources said.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and other top party brass were present when the resolution was adopted, the sources said.

The resolution while supporting the legislative option, however, said if it is to be "fruitful", the NDA allies and especially the opposition Congress Party would have to extend their support to it.

While reaffirming the party's view that it favoured construction of a Ram temple at the Ram Janamsthan (disputed site) it said the present arithmetic in Parliament was not in favour of legislation.