A stunned silence gripped the BJP national executive here last evening when Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee began his address with a tantalising remark: ‘‘I want Advaniji’s word to be the last one (main chahta hoon Advaniji ka shabd antim shabd ho).’’ This left everyone guessing. When Advani finally spoke this afternoon, perhaps, he did have the last word — on Ayodhya. ‘‘A settlement of the Ayodhya issue by dialogue is the best option,’’ he declared in his valedictory address to the national executive. This endorsement of the Vajpayee line over, the hawks and doves in the BJP had converged on one point — only negotiations. Having made a symbolic gesture to the RSS-VHP combine by considering the legislative option and placing it on record as part of its resolution on Ayodhya, the party has rallied around the PM. The BJP will not even approach its NDA partners for support to legislation for the construction of a temple. Party president M Venkaiah Naidu left no one in any doubt: ‘‘If allies will extend their support, we will happily receive it. There will be no official initiative by the party to seek their support.’’ This stand was reinforced by the Government as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today ruled out a legislation on the temple. She told reporters in New Delhi, on the eve of the monsoon session of Parliament: ‘‘There is no question of bringing a Bill on the issue as the allies are not with us on it.’’ When asked why the Government can’t hold a joint sitting of Parliament for the passage of the Bill, as it did in the case of POTA, she said, ‘‘For POTA, there was no opposition from the allies. This is different.’’ The Prime Minister, however, has been silent on the nature of any latest initiative to pursue ‘‘negotiations’’. There is no word on the identity of any new intermediaries after Kanchi Kamakoti Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi said he was pulling out for now. Highly-placed sources in the BJP, when asked about the intermediaries in the latest initiative, told The Indian Express this evening: ‘‘You will come to know at an appropriate time,’’ adding later that ‘‘some non-active politicians are involved in the effort.’’ The BJP hopes for a negotiated settlement rest on the perceived keenness of a section of Muslims to settle the issue with Hindus. Advani told the national executive, ‘‘Several Muslim organisations and individuals are now talking of a resolution of the Ayodhya issue. It is for this reason why the issue has become unfrozen. A settlement by a dialogue is the best option. A settlement will defuse tension.’’ The VHP can be trusted not to take this affront lying down. Therefore, as a dialogue gains momentum, the current truce brokered by the RSS between the VHP and Vajpayee is bound to come under strain. The PM made no secret of his agony on this count: ‘‘When people in the family demand (my) resignation, I feel enormous pain,’’ he said.
