Eye on Lok Sabha elections, BJP rakes up Ayodhya issue

The BJP, which had kept its pet issues like Ram Janambhoomi on the backburner because of compulsions of coalition politics 10 years ago, today revived the Ayodhya chant saying it would build a magnificent temple for Lord Ram if it got a majority on its own.

The party, which had yesterday suggested that the Congress might exploit the war hysteria (against Pakistan) ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, made a strong pitch for “direct action” against Pakistan if it failed to take concrete steps in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes.

Party President Rajnath Singh said in his inaugural address at the two-day National Council meeting of the BJP that the party was committed to building a magnificent temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

“We are waiting for an opportunity and will enact a law when we get a majority on our own. Jahan tak Ram Janambhoomi ka sawal hai, koi ma ka lal Bhagwan Ram me hamari aastha aur nishta ko diga nahi sakta (No one can shake the BJP’s faith in and reverence for Lord Ram),” he said.

Talking tough, Singh said, “Pakistan will have to take some concrete measures. For this, the government of India should take the international community into confidence and create diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, and if there is no outcome even after this, the alternative of direct action should be resorted to.”

Singh said the facts that had come to light after the terror attack in Mumbai clearly pointed towards the active involvement of many organisations in Pakistan and also “some parts of the government machinery.”

His remarks came a day after he expressed apprehensions that the Congress-led coalition at the Centre could utilise a possible clash with Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes for reaping electoral dividends. “War (with Pakistan) should not be abused as an instrument for fulfilling political objectives.....This sort of thing is not good when elections are approaching,” Singh had said in his inaugural address at the National Executive.

Before the National Council meeting, the party’s prime ministerial candidate, LK Advani, visited the Samadhi of RSS founder KB Hedgevar and Golwalkar Guruji and said he was proud of his association with the RSS since 1943.

At the National Council, Advani was visibly moved when Singh spoke about Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s health and expressed confidence that the party patriarch’s dream would be to see his “younger brother” unfurl the National Flag from the Red Fort.

The BJP had kept its pet issues like Ayodhya, Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir and Uniform Civil Code on the backburner when it came to power in 1998 as part of a coalition government.

Singh lamented that during the last five years, the Congress-led coalition at the Centre had failed to spare “even five minutes” for a dialogue to resolve the Ram Janambhoomi issue.

Senior party leaders, however, said in private Ayodhya issue was limited to speeches and was not likely to find any mention in the party’s manifesto or the poll agenda. They said they were talking about a situation when the party would have its own majority in the Lok Sabha.

“The day the BJP will get a clear majority we will, if necessary, bring a law on the issue,” said Singh.