The Hindu : From Palampur to Raipur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 21, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

From Palampur to Raipur

THE SOUND BITES heard from the Bharatiya Janata Party's National Executive at Raipur confirm the suspicion of its friends and foes alike: the party remains hopelessly enthralled by its own too-clever-by-half devices and formulations. The "resolution on the issue of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi," adopted at Raipur, is a classic essay in this kind of political cleverness. Only a week before they left for Raipur, the BJP's top leaders — the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, and the party president's, Venkaiah Naidu — allowed their arms to be twisted, more or less publicly, by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh brass into giving an undertaking that the National Executive would entertain the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's demand that an "enabling legislation" be brought before Parliament. Two days before the executive meeting, Mr. Advani opted clearly to spell out the unworkability of such a proposal. Still, the party found it expedient to pass the resolution, stating "the BJP is of the view that this [legislative] alternative too should be explored." Not only do the BJP leaders know that such a proposal cannot get the parliamentary nod, they also say it in so many words. The resolution itself points out the roadblocks by noting that "the legislative approach would be fruitful if our allies in the NDA as well as the parties in the Opposition, especially the Congress, extend their support to it." Yet they have permitted themselves this essay in political make-believe in the fond hope that such a stratagem would help them corner the Opposition parties on an `emotive' issue, that too in the run-up to five Assembly elections later this year.

The Raipur resolution reeks of political opportunism. The apostates and sceptics are pretending to be believers in the `Ayodhya religion' they first discovered at Palampur in June 1989. This is the BJP's own business. But in trying to appease the rampant VHP, the BJP has in effect dignified all the insults that the Parishad's leaders, Ashok Singhal and Praveen Togadia in particular, have hurled at the Prime Minister in recent weeks. It was left to Mr. Vajpayee to express his anguish over the intermittent demands for his resignation; nonetheless he too had to mollify the trident-rattlers by assuring them that his Government would not want to marginalise or bypass the VHP in finding a solution to the Ayodhya dispute. At the same time, the Raipur resolution reaffirms, rather perfunctorily, the usefulness of the "dialogue process," even if the VHP is not enamoured of this route; the resolution indirectly commends the Kanchi Shankaracharya's recent efforts at mediation between the two communities. This can be construed as a mild rebuff to the VHP hotheads who regularly make peremptory demands on Muslims.

Should the BJP decide to `explore' the legislative option, it would invite an avoidable rebuff. That, too, is its business. But the BJP leaders ought to be warned that this kind of appeasement will only whet the VHP's appetite. They, of all people, should know the VHP is not alone in its pursuit of the politics of religious antagonism, based on a rejection of the rule of law; it has the RSS' open support in this divisive enterprise. After Raipur, the VHP leaders can only be expected to make strident demands on political parties that they allow their parliamentarians to cast a vote of `conscience'. The Opposition parties have already expressed their scorn for the `enabling legislation' route. Most of the NDA allies have also made clear their unwillingness to oblige the BJP on this count. Only the BJP seems intent on encoiling itself in cleverness of its own making.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

Stories in this Section

From Palampur to Raipur

Mothers and female infanticide

America's war before the war

Shifting sands

Trade as foreign policy

A forward-looking visit?