BJP rivals hair-split Ram temple statement
Every time a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party utters the T-word, sections of the media and the party's detractors triumphantly conclude that the BJP is returning to the ‘divisive politics of Hindutva' — triumphantly, because it offers them an enticing opportunity to hair-split statements and reveal the ‘devilish' side of the party. The stereotypical ferocity was, therefore, to be expected when the senior BJP leader and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, Mr Amit Shah, said on Saturday in Ayodhya that he wished “we will soon build a grand temple for lord Ram here and restore lord Ram to his rightful place”. Television anchors spend precious hours analysing whether the BJP was returning to temple politics in a bid to polarise voters, especially in Uttar Pradesh, while the party's political opponents saw all sorts of devious designs behind Mr Shah's remark. But what takes the cake in absurdity is Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh's attempt to link the BJP leader's statement to the terror attack in Bodh Gaya. Of course, the Congress leader's mischievous theory deserves to be contemptuously dismissed. On his part, Mr Shah has said nothing new. It has been the BJP's unambiguously stated position for years that it favours the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, and that the construction can happen either with the consent of all stakeholders or through a court directive. On many occasions the party has reiterated that the temple issue is not an election gimmick but forms the core of its ideology, just as it has repeatedly said that the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya is not part of the agenda of the National Democratic Alliance which it leads, because its alliance partners may have different opinions on the issue and that it would not press on subjects which elude consensus within the alliance. Despite such clarity, party-baiters continue with their vain attempts to rake up the temple controversy in a bid to put the BJP on the defensive, brand it communal and scare away its potential allies in the run-up to the lok Sabha election. In any case, what was Mr Shah supposed to say during a visit to AyodhyaIJ That his party does not believe in the construction of the templeIJ For that matter, can even any ‘secular' party take this position publiclyIJ It is, therefore, absurd to read into the BJP leader's remark more than it contains.
As a matter of fact, there is no need for the BJP to even exploit the temple issue for electoral gains, when such gains can be had on the plank of good governance that the party-led NDA gave the country in 1998-2004, and the BJP regimes have been delivering in States like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa over the past years. Indeed, the BJP models of development have been widely acknowledged for their efficacy. One has to only compare the dismal performance of Congress-ruled States to understand the difference. The BJP's Parliamentary Board meeting, which took place on Monday, has re-emphasised that good governance will be the party's election mantra. The people are looking to oust the Congress-led UPA regime and a meek and weak Prime Minister who cannot even command the loyalty of his Cabinet colleagues, let alone that of the country's people. That, and not the temple, is the issue.