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Ready for legislation if Cong. backs us: Advani

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI FEB. 25. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today signalled that the Vajpayee Government was willing to dump the National Democratic Alliance agenda for governance and was "ready to bring in legislation" to enable handing over of the entire 67 acres of land acquired in Ayodhya, including the disputed plot, to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-controlled trust.

In fact, he is reported to have said that the Government could also bring in legislation on a uniform civil code and on a ban on religious conversions and it would legislate to ban cow slaughter throughout the country.

Strangely, though, he added the rider that the Government could legislate "provided" the Congress clarified its stand on these issues and supported the Government although everyone knows that the NDA Government has a comfortable majority of its own. On the Prevention Of Terrorism Act, it had shown it could even negate a Rajya Sabha defeat through the joint session of Parliament route.

The stance of Mr. Advani, who addressed the BJP parliamentary party this morning from the chair — in the absence of the Prime Minister — was seen as a response to the stinging criticism of the Prime Minister and himself at the two-day Dharam Sansad this weekend. Several `sadhus' and `sants' and VHP leaders had attacked the big two in the BJP for using emotive issues to grab power, living in comfort and forgetting their commitments.

Later, the party spokesperson, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, made it clear that the BJP leadership in the Government would talk to its coalition partners to evolve a consensus on these issues only if and when the Congress signalled its support.

The NDA agenda for governance had given a solemn assurance that "all contentious issues" would be put on the backburner and that the final verdict of the court in the Ayodhya case would be respected. Now, Mr. Advani has talked about legislation (which would bypass the courts) ahead of a Supreme Court decision on the Government's plea on vacation of an earlier stay on any activities on the acquired land even as the main Ayodhya title suit is reported to be progressing fast in the Allahabad High Court.

Some years ago in Chennai, Mr. Advani had declared that the NDA agenda was the BJP's agenda and the BJP had no separate agenda of its own, but now, it seems, under intense pressure from the RSS and the VHP, he wants to assert the BJP's commitment to all the contentious issues.

The fact that the BJP has been stung by the Dharam Sansad criticism of its leaders was evident when several MPs and Mr. Malhotra expressed their disappointment and anger at the harsh words used by the `sants'.

Mr. Malhotra later briefed reporters quoting Mr. Advani as having said: "For the Congress which opened the locks on Ram Janmabhoomi and got the Shah Bano judgment overturned, it has been a matter of vote bank politics, but for us it is a question of commitment."

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