“There is no question of backing out from the issues of Ram Janmabhoomi, a common civil code, and Article 370 which the BJP wants abolished. The BJP is strong on its ideology and the NDA partners have been apprised that its agenda for governance is for the Centre,” Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a BJP spokesman, said. According to him, Advani had told the four BJP State chiefs that the party would bring into play strategies based on the Hindutva ideology in their States too. Advani asked them to begin a jan sampark (mass contact) programme in this regard, he said.

BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh too have given ample indications that the party was back playing the Ayodhya card in the State. State Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon and party chiefs Vinay Katiyar, who is the MP from the area, visited Ayodhya in the first week of January and announced as much. They declared that the temple construction was very much on the party’s agenda. Tandon announced a Rs.28-crore development package for Ayodhya and kicked off 54 development schemes, inciting those relating to infrastructure and civic amenities. Some of these schemes had been announced two years ago, but had failed to make any progress. “All this is being done to restore the glory and grandeur of this town, so that it stands in readiness to welcome Lord Ram,” Tandon said. He also asserted that the party’s coalition partner in the State, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), would not be allowed to come in the way of the plans. “Just as we have not expressed any objection to the BSP undertaking development schemes in the name of its own icons, we expect it to allow us to pursue our agenda,” he said.
What, however, remains to be seen is the NDA allies’ reaction to the developments. On similar occasions in the past the allies have taken refuge in the argument that as long as the government was not deviating from the NDA agenda it was all right with them. This time, however, some noises have been heard. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the crucial external supporter of the NDA government, has warned the BJP against deviating from the NDA agenda and advised it to “stick to governance and not dabble in controversial issues”. Senior TDP leader K. Yerran Naidu said the government’s move was improper because it was not in consonance with the agreed agenda.

The Samata Party, which initially showed signs of being opposed to the government approaching the Supreme Court, changed lack. Its leader George Fernandes said there was nothing wrong in the government approaching the court for directions. He said if need be he would try and convince the other alliance partners about the matter.

The Opposition parties have, as was to be expected, denounced the move. The Congress(I) said it was typical of the BJP to bring the issue to the boil every time an election was round the corner. “Can anybody explain why this appeal was not filed some months earlier? There was not a single reason for vacating the Supreme Court order of March 2002,” said Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi, himself a Supreme Court lawyer.

Both the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the status quo should prevail in Ayodhya till the final order of the court in the main suit came and that no construction or any other activity should be allowed on the acquired land. “Any move to the contrary would have a very evil impact on the communal situation in the country,” they stated. The CPI said it was an “attempt to distort the judicial process and make a mockery of the law”.

The BJP, however, remains smug in the belief that as in the past, this time too the allies, reluctant to walk out of the government, will find their own excuses to continue their support. Besides, only recently they witnessed the results of an aggressive Hindutva campaign in Gujarat and may hope to reap similar mileage in other States. “Why should NDA unity be at risk? The government has merely sought the vacation of the Supreme Court order in Ayodhya. Everything will depend on what the honourable court says,” BJP spokesman Naqvi said.

Although it is clear to anyone that this is just another act of political jugglery by Vajpayee to walk the right rope of governance and keep the Sangh Parivar happy at the same time, there is no denying the fact that the issue has enough heat to bring the country to the boil. The compulsion to create an emotive issue ahead of a crucial round of elections guides Vajpayee right now.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has opposed the government’s stand. The legal cell of the Board, which met on February 9, decided to file either a rejoinder or an affidavit when the case came up for hearing. “In our opinion the situation under which the Supreme Court had passed the March 13 order remains unchanged,” said the convener and spokesman of the AIMPLB committee on the Babri Masjid, Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas. Dr. Ilyas pointed to the fact that the VHP had announced its Dharma Sansad where a programme for temple construction was to be declared. The VHP has been making statements that go contrary to the spirit of the Supreme Court order, he added. “Besides, the March 13 order had been passed in view of the Supreme Court’s earlier 1994 order through which the court had appointed the Centre as the receiver of the acquired land till the final adjudication of the case. The acquired land, the court had said, could only be distributed to its owners or lessees and only after the final adjustment of the disputed land. Hence the Centre cannot give away any part of the acquired land to anyone till the controversy about the disputed land is settled,” Dr. Ilyas said.