Playing up Ayodhya issue may benefit BJP

By J.P. Shukla

LUCKNOW, DEC. 12. The Opposition seems to be creating a labyrinth to trap itself by bringing the vexing Ayodhya issue to the political centre-stage. The public outcry raised by the Opposition both within Parliament and outside has emboldened the BJP to defend itself in a language which it had forgotten after the demolition of the Babri mosque on December 6, 1992, when it stood cornered by dominant public opinion in the country.

The BJP, so far, had been totally confused while trying to formulate its reaction to the incidents and was speaking in two voices. While its first reaction was to express the Babri demolition as an incident of valour, second thoughts forced it to describe the action as unfortunate which, it claimed, was spontaneous and out of its control. The Opposition attempts to corner it have now encouraged its leaders to make fresh attempts to divide the polity on religious lines in which the party has a natural vested interest.

The only occasion when the BJP harvested rich electoral dividends in Uttar Pradesh was in 1991 when the surcharged communal atmosphere resulted in total polarisation of votes on communal lines. This had been made possible by a sustained campaign launched by the Sangh Parivar against the ``wrongs done to Hindus'' by foreign Muslim invaders and an equally strong campaign launched by the then U.P. Chief Minister, Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav, to take up cudgels on behalf of the Muslims. The BJP somehow feels that it alone could be the gainer in case of sharp divisions among voters on communal lines and the Opposition inadvertently has started playing the BJP's game.

The 1991 U.P. Assembly elections were held amid communal riots at a number of places in the State and the minority community had been forced to live in an atmosphere of heightened insecurity.

The sequence of happenings in recent weeks gives the impression that the hawks in the Sangh Parivar have been preparing for yet another bout. The Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, has challenged the Opposition to clarify whether it wants a Ram temple constructed at the disputed site at Ayodhya or a mosque. The question is directed more at the Congress, the hands of which were not so clean in the developments that had taken place at Ayodhya.

The Samajwadi Party has pointed out that it was only during the Congress rule that the locks of the Babri mosque had been opened. It was again during the Congress rule that the Shilanyas of the Ram temple had been allowed. If the campaign further intensifies, the Sangh Parivar is likely to arouse passions of the majority community by becoming more belligerent.

The failures of the State Government at various counts had made the saffron forces uncertain about their future. There were few people who hoped that the party might have a satisfactory performance in the coming Assembly elections in the country's most populous State. The Opposition's attempts to corner it on the Ayodhya issue have enabled the BJP and its State Government to divert public attention from real issues to raise an imaginary euphoria while replying to Opposition charges.

And the loser in this game is likely to be the Congress. If the Congress leaders feel that cornering the BJP on the question of Ram temple could help them gain the loyalty of Muslims, they might be mistaken. They would never be able to rise up to the level of the Samajwadi Party while condemning the communal forces.

Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav has already pointed out that while the Sangh Parivar was responsible for demolition of the Babri Masjid, it was only the Congress which was to be blamed for the construction of the make-shift temple at the disputed site. The BJP Government led by Mr. Kalyan Singh had been dismissed in the evening of December 6 as reports came in that the Babri structure had been demolished. It was during the night and the next day after the demolition that the construction of the make- shift temple was completed. Evidently, the Central Government headed by the then Prime Minister, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, did nothing to stop karsewaks from converting a mosque into a temple for almost 24 hours.

Congress activists in U.P. feel that their leaders in New Delhi would do better not to raise emotions on the temple issue as it would benefit only the BJP and the Samajwadi Party.

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