BJP again takes Ayodhya issue to high pitch

LUCKNOW - The Ayodhya temple issue that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come to power in the past appears to be taking a dominant position once again with a meeting of the party’s Uttar Pradesh executive concluding Sunday by taking it to a high pitch.

Spelling out the BJP’s priority vis-a-vis the Ayodhya issue, party’s former president Rajnath Singh said: “The Ayodhya temple is bound to be a reality - come what may.”

His announcement during the valedictory address came amidst reverberating cries of “Jai Shri Ram”.

Taking the up Ayodhya issue, Singh asked: “Who does not believe that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya?”

Training his guns at the opposition, he said: “I wish to tell such political parties which repeatedly want to know why he BJP was always raising the Ayodhya issue that if we do not do so then who else will do that?”

“There is no other political party in the country that is interested in talking about construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, there is none to raise the Kashmir issue or the Ram setu question. Therefore, we must consider it our foremost duty to fight for the cause of the temple, which is closely related to the cultural ethos and heritage of this nation,” he said.

Answering reporters’ queries later, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister blamed the state government for needlessly beefing up security ahead of an Allahabad High Court verdict in mid-September in the 125-year-old litigation over the disputed temple site.

“I feel the state government’s move to beef up security to unprecedented levels could prove counter-productive by causing unnecessary tension,” he said.

Rajnath Singh was evasive when asked about Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) supremo Ashok Singhal’s reported comment that the BJP was responsible for “politicising” the Ayodhya issue.

“I am not aware of any such remarks by him, so I would not like to comment on that,” he said.