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NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (AFP) - The Indian government warned Hindu fanatics Tuesday to stay off the site of an ancient mosque razed by radicals in a northern pilgrimage town as tensions built over the powderkeg issue.

The warning came ahead of a March 15 deadline set by the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Forum) to start building a Hindu temple on the ruins of the razed Babri mosque in the northern Indian town of Ayodhya.

"We are aware of what happened in 1992 and we assure you that we will not allow 1992 to be repeated," Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said after a meeting of government coalition partners in New Delhi.

"We will not do anything which will make us repent at a later stage."

The mosque's demolition on December 6, 1992, led to India's worst Hindu-Muslim rioting since the country's independence in 1947. The violence left more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, killed.

The coalition's two-hour meeting was called to discuss the issue and came in the wake of an uproar in parliament Tuesday on the VHP's plans to use force to take over the Babri site, which has been barricaded since the mosque was destroyed.

Radical Hindus claim the mosque was built by Moghul emperor Babar in the 16th-century after demolishing a temple devoted to their mythological warrior god, Lord Rama.

They have demanded the site, which is presently under court protection, be handed over to them.

Meanwhile security officials in Ayodhya reinforced security with the help of paramilitary troops to prevent VHP activists entering the piligrimage town, which is in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

"All security arrangements have been made to maintain law and order and peace in Ayodhya," state chief secretary Home Naresh Dayal said.

Check-posts have been set up at all entry points of Ayodhya and troops are deployed on highways to stop large groups of Hindu hardliners from marching into the riverside town, he said.

Reports from Ayodhya say hundreds of Hindu hardliners are already camping in the town despite the massive security arrangements.

On Monday, Indian President K.R. Narayanan said all steps must be taken to ensure that hardline Hindus do not forcefully construct the temple.

"The government of India is duty-bound to maintain status quo at the disputed site in Ayodhya," Narayanan said in a speech to a joint session of parliament.

"It will also ensure that all necessary measures will be taken to ensure the preservation of law and order.

"The Ayodhya dispute is one of the contentious issues before the nation. Its amicable and speedy resolution is crucial for communal harmony and national integration."

Vajpayee's ruling BJP party once had been a major player in the campaign to reclaim the Ayodhya site for Hindus and several cabinet ministers, including Advani, have been charged with inciting the old mosque's razing. 

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