Wary of Hindutva image, Modi turns down VHP request

Advised not to get involved in the Lord Ram temple issue in Ayodhya

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s campaign committee chairman and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi recently declined an invitation from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to visit Ayodhya, apparently after being advised not to get involved in the Ram temple controversy.   

A strong section within the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological patron of the BJP, and party members believe Modi would have found it difficult to avoid questions on the Ram temple issue if he had accepted the invitation.

To make things more difficult for Modi, VHP leaders are planning to start a padhyatra in Ayodhya demanding construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site.

“It’s a difficult situation for Narendra Modi. If he had gone to Ayodhya, people would have asked him questions about Ram temple. The situation is tricky because if Modi talks about the disputed site, then it will only polarise the voters and if he doesn’t, then it will affect the morale of a section of voters and party workers,” said a senior BJP leader, who is working in Uttar Pradesh.

The VHP has already backed Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP and has also asked the party to name Modi at the earliest. Former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu recently said people of the country were looking for a decisive leader from the BJP and they are talking about Modi.      

Modi was invited for the Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate the 75 th  birthday of Nritya Gopal Das, president of Ram Janambhumi Nyas. The event would have also brought Modi face to face with his rival Praveen Togadia, who is heading the VHP.

“BJP wants Modi to represent development and any mention of the Ram temple issue or common civil code would only project him as a hardline Hindutva leader, which should be avoided at the moment,” the BJP leader added. The Gujarat chief minister was recently appointed the chairman of the party’s election campaign committee and is expected to become the face of the party in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.  

Senior BJP leaders also pointed out both Modi and his close aide Amit Shah are facing a difficult task in Uttar Pradesh as party president Rajnath Singh has already appointed all the office bearers and there is very little room for any changes now. Shah is the BJP’s in-charge in Uttar Pradesh, which sends the largest number of parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha.