RAIPUR, 19 July 2003 — The shadow of Pakistan and the explosive temple-mosque row loomed large at the start of the crucial three-day conclave of leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalists here yesterday.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which heads the ruling coalition, said it was dissatisfied with Pakistan’s response to New Delhi’s bid to make peace between the nuclear-armed neighbors, while party hawks at the conclave stridently advocated for the construction of a temple on the debris of mosque razed by Hindu zealots in 1992 in the northern town of Ayodhya. But moderate BJP leaders appeared reluctant to openly press for the new temple for fear of angering Muslims.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, considered a moderate, steered clear of the tinderbox row. “I am not getting into this dispute, the issue is under discussion at the national executive of the BJP,” Vajpayee told reporters.
But a hawkish leader did not mince words on the matter. “This dispute now must end. The temple should be constructed and there should be a clear national debate on the ownership of the site in (Ayodhya),” said Uma Bharti, a firebrand BJP leader and former Cabinet minister. “There should be a law if negotiations fail but it would be best if Muslims take a step and allow a temple to be built and accept it is the birthplace (of Ram),” added Vinay Katiyar, a leading light in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Council), a right-wing ideological mentor to the ruling party.
Vajpayee’s BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of some two dozen parties, as a whole opposes the highly sensitive campaign of the Hindu nationalists for the temple to be rebuilt.
“Whatever is on the electoral manifesto of the NDA will be implemented,” Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma, a BJP member, said in a diplomatic speech.
Apart from Ayodhya, the meet at Raipur also attacked the main Opposition Congress party for its accusations that the BJP was playing communal politics.
“We are not in the least bit worried by their shrill propaganda that the BJP is an anti-secular party. We are prepared for an open debate on secularism,” BJP president Venkaiah Naidu said.
“Hinduism is the soul of India. We are proud of it but it cannot be an election issue... We are committed to secularism but we are opposed to pseudo-secularism and appeasement for garnering minority votes,” Naidu said.
BJP adopted its traditionally advocated tough stance against Pakistan. While the opinion of the party is not binding on the government, it normally reflects views held by senior government leaders.
“We in the BJP cannot but express our deep dissatisfaction over the lack of a firm and positive response from Pakistan to the prime minister’s peace initiative,” BJP President Venkaiah Naidu told a meeting of the party’s elite national executive.
Naidu said there seemed to be confusion within Pakistan on how to resolve long-standing differences with India and New Delhi had, as a result, decided to tread “very cautiously” in its efforts to improve ties.
In his opening address, Naidu called for “tough measures” and “incentives and disincentives” to check the nation’s population growth, the United News of India news agency reported.
Naidu said population was a “serious challenge” and education alone could not check its growth. Senior BJP leaders said population control would be the party’s main election issue. On World Population Day, Indian newspapers carried full-page advertisements with statements from the government advocating small families.
A message from Vajpayee, who is also chairman of the National Commission on Population (NCP), said: “Let us resolve to enhance the quality of life of every child born in our country. This is only possible if we keep our families small.”
