NOTWITHSTANDING the BJP's ostensibly consistent line that Kashi and Mathura are no more on its agenda, the twin-temple issues seem near certain to form part of the poll campaign in UP along with Ayodhya. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an RSS outfit, has once again taken the lead.
Parishad leader Ashok Singhal called a meeting of the pro-VHP sadhus in Varanasi early this month and got their endorsement to his move. He also got a map and temple construction plan approved. The plan envisages the demolition of Gyanvapi masjid, situated parallel to the Vishwanath temple in Kashi, and the temple's extension beyond the mosque. The Mathura plan, which follows next, aims at 'liberating' what's considered the birth-site of Krishna. VHP sources say a concrete plan is likely to be announced on September 4, coinciding with Janmashtami.
The move got instant support within the BJP's more militant sections. Vinay Katiyar, party MP from Faizabad and former Bajrang Dal chief, has been demanding its inclusion in the party's manifesto for the UP polls. He even wrote to BJP chief L.K. Advani that he would prefer quitting his Lok Sabha seat in order to work for the 'liberation' of the two shrines.
Katiyar did not press further as Advani made it clear that the BJP is not the forum for such issues and that its decision not to have Kashi-Mathura on its poll manifesto was "well thought out". However, VHP sources believe the BJP will finally come around. After all, the BJP had adopted a resolution supporting a temple in the place of the mosque in Ayodhya only in June 1989, almost five years after the VHP had raised the issue.
Says a VHP joint secretary: "Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, we had given a 42-point charter of demands, including the liberation of these shrines. The BJP had assured us of its support. We worked for them during the elections only on that assurance." The BJP high command, in all probability, won't extend formal support to the move. But the party unit in UP informally favours the VHP line—convinced that the issue will once again polarise votes on communal lines, with the majority Hindus supporting it. In the November 1993 assembly polls—held 11 months after the demolition—the party had substantially increased its vote share, in comparison to what it managed in the June 1991 assembly polls. It's hoping for an encore.
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