The Hindu : Need for reconciliation: Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004

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Need for reconciliation: Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, handing over his nomination papers in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, on Monday. - Reuters

GANDHINAGAR, MARCH 29. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today stressed the need for "reconciliation everywhere" between Hindus and Muslims but said that it could not be at the cost of "injustice [to] and appeasement [of]" any section.

Claiming that more and more members of the minorities were turning towards the BJP, Mr. Advani said that Muslims were fast coming out of the "misconception" about the BJP and were now determined not to allow any party to use them as a "vote bank."

He said the "misconception" was deliberately created among the Muslims to use them as vote bank. But the minorities had realised the "mistake" and were now turning towards his party. In Hubli, Karnataka, for example, which he visited during the first leg of his "Bharat Uday Yatra", a large number of Muslims welcomed the yatra and attended the public meeting. Appreciating the efforts of the Narendra Modi Government to contain the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002, Mr. Advani said he was not aware of the Muslim attitude towards the BJP in the State but expressed the confidence that the minorities in Gujarat too would come to the BJP in large numbers.

Mr. Advani was speaking to mediapersons after filing his nomination papers for the Gujarat's capital, Gandhinagar, from where he has been elected thrice. The party president, Venkaiah Naidu, flew in to be present when Mr. Advani filed his papers. The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, the former Chief Ministers, Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta, and the Union Minister of State for Home, Harin Pathak, who is contesting the neighbouring Ahmedabad constituency, were present.

Surprise visitor

A surprise visitor at a function to inaugurate the Gandhinagar election office by Mr. Advani preceding the filing of his papers was Jagruti Pandya, wife of the slain Minister of State for Home, Haren Pandya, whose father, Vithhalbhai Pandya, has announced his decision to contest as an independent against Mr. Advani.

Stating that she had no political interests, Ms. Pandya said she was told of Mr. Advani's wish to see her. Later, asked about Mr. Pandya filing his papers against him, Mr. Advani said he was not aware of it but hoped that the father of a former active BJP functionary would not contest against him. Mr. Advani said like in the first leg of his yatra from Kanyakumari to Amritsar, the second leg from Porbandar to Puri starting tomorrow, he would highlight good governance, development and progress. "But this does not mean other issues are not there." The dreams of millions of people in the country for a Ram temple in Ayodhya would be fulfilled but with the co-operation of all sections.

Mr. Advani said that communal riots had occurred in many places in the country, maybe even on a more severe scale than in Gujarat. But nowhere else had over 200 rioters been killed in police firing in a bid to control the disturbances. It was also creditable that the Modi Government averted a violent reaction to the terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple.

He said a conscious decision had been taken by the BJP to avoid negative campaigning and if the Opposition indulged in negativity, stop with only giving it a "fitting reply."

In the same spirit, he refused to draw a comparison on his "Bharat Uday Yatra" and the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's road show. "Spare me from any such comparison," he said.

The India-Pakistan cricket series was a "small but important step'' towards improving relations between the two countries. Mr Advani appreciated the Hurriyat Conference and said its leaders were under "all kinds of pressures" not to talk to the Centre, but the very fact that they had come for the talks signified their "change in the attitude."

Mr. Advani later left for Somnath to offer puja at the temple before embarking on the second leg of the yatra.

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