National

The Arson Within

Vajpayee faces the worst-ever dilemma in his tenure as he sets out to douse Ayodhya's flames <br><a href=http://www.outlookindia.com/submain1.asp?mode=25&refer=6766 target=_blank>FreeSpeech: Riot After Riot</a>

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The Arson Within
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In Delhi, desperate efforts were being made to persuade an adamant VHP leadership to defer its Ram mandir programme, with only a fortnight left to go for the March 15 deadline. The government’s main fear was that a large gathering in Ayodhya could lead to untoward incidents like the breaking of barricades around the disputed site, which could have communal/legal consequences. The government clamped down on Ayodhya, sealing all routes to the temple town. The VHP’s cooperation was seen as crucial; while kar sevaks could be beaten into submission in Ayodhya, a call to satyagrah by the VHP could lead to countrywide conflagrations.

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Suspended between raj-dharam and Ram-dharam, Vajpayee finds himself in the mother of all dilemmas. If he attempts to pander to the VHP, the NDA allies will pull the rug from under his government. If he cracks down on the VHP, he could well face a mini-revolt from his own MPs and alienate the Sangh parivar.

In fact, so frustrated was the PM that when talks with the VHP ended in stalemate, he reportedly said the Sangh parivar, which had created the problem in the first place, better come up with a solution or let him quit. In the meeting between RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan and VHP leader Ashok Singhal, the sarsanghchalak reportedly emphasised that the government should at no cost be endangered. But the VHP appeared unconvinced, with its general secretary Praveen Togadia saying: "We are here to build the temple and not make or break the government."

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The path to compromise lies through a legal and political minefield: if the government decides to hand over part or all of the 67 acres acquired by it in 1993, except for the 80 by 40 feet disputed site, to the VHP-led trust Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas, it will have to seek not just the Supreme Court’s sanction, but the NDA’s as well. It can also go for day-to-day hearings to resolve the title suit to the disputed site, but that would still take months. And judging from the VHP’s intransigent mood, the Vajpayee government may well be running out of time.

The VHP says the PM has until March 12 to come up with a solution. On March 14, ‘dharmacharyas’ will meet in Ayodhya to take stock and reach a final decision on temple construction. It looks as if the PM will have to make a personal appeal to the sants before the crisis can be resolved. Senior BJP leaders are already hotfooting it to Ayodhya to sweet-talk the mahants. The RSS is willing to help, though it wants the government to be more flexible.

That the VHP’s anger, lashed to fever-pitch by the Godhra massacre, could not be soothed by negotiation and promises of future settlements in its favour was evident from the statements coming from its headquarters at Delhi’s Sankatmochan ashram. Singhal reportedly told BJP leaders he’d rather the VHP was dissolved than defer the construction of the Ram temple.

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The VHP says the BJP-led government hasn’t taken a single concrete step towards resolving the Ayodhya dispute, despite the PM having promised—in the Lok Sabha—to come up with a solution by mid-March. BJP MP Swami Chinmayananda says: "He (Vajpayee) cannot be trusted. He says something on the floor of the House and then goes back on it. Yeh rajpaat nahin, raj part kar rahe hain (he is not governing, he’s dividing the country)."

Significantly, the VHP is also miffed with the prime minister personally, accusing him of doublespeak: of playing Rambhakt in private and the moderate in public. VHP sources even recall his provocative speech on December 5, 1992, in Lucknow, which has effectively been downplayed in subsequent accounts. The anti-Vajpayee mood is evident in Ayodhya, where VHP leaders have dubbed him "traitor" to the cause of Ram.

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"Those who came to power on the strength of our sacrifices are now appeasing the minority community," said VHP spokesperson Vireshwar Dwivedi. Vajpayee’s statement on the Godhra incident "appears to lay the burden of responsibility on the kar sevaks rather than the miscreants. This is surprising and shocking", he added.

In response to the VHP’s tough stance, the government adopted a two-pronged approach, of negotiation and intimidation. Through the RSS, it attempted to talk the VHP into deferring its agitation, at the same time making it clear that the sants and kar sevaks would be at the receiving end of the government’s lathi if they erred. "We have to take a tough stand. If the VHP violates the law, to lathi khayenge (they’ll get the stick)," said the minister of state for railways, Digvijay Singh.

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However, there’s trouble within the party, as the directive to all BJP workers to stay away from Ayodhya and not participate in any VHP programme hasn’t gone down too well. Says rural development minister Venkaiah Naidu: "Aakrosh to hai. There is genuine anger, but no government can allow the law to be violated."

At least, five BJP MPs made it clear that for them, Ram came before rajniti (statecraft) and they would proceed to Ayodhya for kar seva in violation of any party directive, regardless of disciplinary action. Among them were Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Yogi Aditya Nath, Prahlad Patel, Swami Chinmayananda and Faizabad’s Vinay Katiyar. The latter, who created a rumpus in the House over Godhra just before the Budget was tabled, said: "I am the one who started the movement. No one should expect me to draw back now."

Off the record, several MPs and even Union ministers admitted that they shared the kar sevak’s sentiments. Shaken by the Godhra incident, a Union minister said: "With what face can we now ask the VHP to take back its campaign?" A BJP Rajya Sabha MP says: "It is ironic that when Hindus are killed, there is a demand by the Opposition to ban the VHP." More than one MP was upset with the tepid condemnation of the Godhra incident in Parliament.

The party is also worried about upsetting its core constituency. Says VHP’s Acharya Giriraj Kishore: "They cannot shed their Hindu image, no matter how hard they try." A senior BJP leader privately agrees. "Why should we try to shed it? If the Hindus are not with us, why should any other party join us?" he asks.

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The "Atal-Advani" chorus of "the government will not permit violation of rule of law" has both relieved and amused Opposition members, who are quick to point out the irony of the man who led the rath yatra now leading the charge against the sadhu-sants of the VHP. They are, however, playing their role to the hilt. The Lok Sabha was adjourned on March 1 after proceedings were blocked.

The NDA has closed ranks behind the prime minister, with the caveat that he should not be seen to yield to the VHP’s demands. "The atmosphere is that of 1992, just before Babri Masjid was demolished. The difference is that the government today is determined not to allow any untoward incident, unlike its predecessor".

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The VHP is haunted by a crisis of credibility if it backs down in the face of the prime minister’s resignation threat and pressure from the RSS. The indifferent response to its jan chetna yatras was a clear indication that public support for the Ramjanmabhoomi movement was waning. It picked up after the election, with thousands of kar sevaks converging on Ayodhya in the run-up to March 15, the designated date for commencing construction of the Ram temple. Says a BJP MP and a VHP sympathiser: "We cannot keep building up momentum and then withdrawing."

What’s clear is that the prime minister’s credibility vis-a-vis the Sangh parivar has never been lower. And he has only himself to blame—having ridden the tiger, he can’t easily get off.

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