Restrain cadres on Ayodhya issue, Digvijay Singh urges BJP
By IANSTuesday, September 28, 2010
NEW DELHI - Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the Ram temple issue for political gains and asked it to restrain its cadres when the Ayodhya verdict is delivered Thursday.
“BJP’s relationship with Ram is limited to elections. What was BJP doing when it was in power? They have only tried to use the issue politically,” Singh, who is the Congress in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, told reporters here.
“I hope BJP would realise that 2010 is not 1992. They should restrain their cadres from indulging in violence,” Singh told reporters.
Answering queries, the Congress leader agreed that Lord Ram was an emotive issue. “Lord Ram is definitely an emotive issue. He is a deity worshipped by Hindus all over the world. We have total faith in Bhagwan Ram.”
“People have seen the game of the BJP-VHP-RSS, who have been fooling the people of the country on the issue,” Singh said.
Singh said the Congress will oppose anyone who tried to create a communal divide in the country.
“The aim of the Congress is to maintain communal harmony and amity. All our party workers have been asked to remain in their areas on Sep 30 and work for maintaining communal harmony,” he said.
Singh dismissed suggestions that the central government and the Congress favoured the deferment of the Allahabad High court verdict on the Ramjanamboomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
“There is no question of any change in stance. We supported the first judicial pronouncement and we have welcomed the second judicial pronouncement as well,” Digvijay Singh said.
He said he did not trust Hindu groups leaders’ claims of abiding by the court verdict.
“I do not believe what the BJP, VHP and RSS say,” he said, adding that they had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in 1992 that nothing would happen to the Babri Masjid.
He said it was incumbent on the state governments to maintain law and order and communal harmony and added that any party can approach the Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court judgement.
