The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today held out an olive branch to the Congress by offering to get out of the poll arena in exchange for its co-operation in the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya through the enactment of a legislation by Parliament.
As VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia tried to reach out to the Congress while speaking at a news conference at Bhubaneswar, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, addressing a party working committee meeting here, sounded an alarm about the gameplan of the BJP and its sister organisations to polarise society in the coming assembly polls.
Advani regrets Gujarat violence
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HYDERABAD: The violence in Gujarat was ‘‘most unfortunate’’ and an ‘‘aberration’’ and the Government was committed to a secular nation, Dy PM L K Advani said here on Sunday. ‘‘We remain firmly wedded to our commitment to the ideas of a peaceful, harmonious, inclusive, secular nation that celebrates its diversity but is determined to defend its unity at all costs,’’ he said. (ENS) |
The VHP offer comes at a time when it is set to revive the temple movement on a large scale. Far from being a dead issue, the temple remains a politically potent issue, Godhra and post-Godhra ultimately being a fallout of the same. Right now, the VHP is completely disenchanted with the BJP for its failure to deliver on the temple issue. On the other hand, the Congress, having lost the Gujarat elections, is undergoing a churning on its policy, particularly in the wake of the rejection of its soft-Hindutva by the voters.
Togadia, while speaking to The Indian Express here, over the phone, was quite candid: ‘‘We see this as the most opportune moment to make the temple an apolitical issue. We will get out of the poll arena if the Congress and BJP join hands to enact a law to facilitate its construction. Ensuring a BJP victory in elections is not our job. However, if the BJP is seen as pro-Hindu and the Congress anti-Hindu, then we work against the Congress as a fallout of this situation. If the two major parties — Congress and BJP — support this cause, temple would not be an electoral issue and the matter would be resolved permanently.’’
Togadia stressed that he wanted the Congress to stay for a healthy democracy. People will have a choice if the BJP fails. However, it should understand Hindu sentiments.
He told The Indian Express that ‘‘though the Congress tries to appease Muslims, it has had a soft corner for Hindu sentiments too in the past. After all, the appearence of the deity, the unlocking of the disputed structure, shilanyas, rath yatra, demolition of Babri Masjid and the construction of the makeshift temple — all happened during Congress rule.’’
When asked if it implied that he had given up on the BJP, Togadia said, ‘‘The BJP supported the temple cause in the past but its stand on this issue is not clear today.’’
(With inputs from Bhubaneswar)