Advani

New Delhi, Sept. 17: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad are determined not to let the BJP hijack the “Ram setu” movement the way it had “usurped” the Ram temple agitation.

The two organisations believe that the BJP’s involvement would reduce the issue to a secular-communal fight, forcing most political parties to set themselves against the movement.

The Sangh and VHP want to highlight the point that the issue does not have a Muslim angle and so all political parties should support it, sources said.

“The BJP betrayed us during the Ramjanmabhoomi movement. Its involvement has prevented the issue from being resolved for so long. We will not allow the party to use the Hindu cause for political power again,” said VHP vice-president Giriraj Kishore.

He was particularly harsh on L.K. Advani, saying: “Advani was at the forefront of the Ayodhya agitation. Now he is again trying to place himself in a similar position. We are determined not to allow him to use our platform this time.”

He alleged that the BJP was at first reluctant to take up the setu cause but jumped into the fray when it spotted a political opportunity after the VHP’s successful rasta roko.

The VHP has included only one BJP leader, Murli Manohar Joshi, in its Ramsetu Raksha Samiti because of his deep personal involvement in the matter.

VHP international president Praveen Togadia said the organisation was in touch with many parties, including UPA partners, to seek their support.

VHP leaders such as Ashok Singhal, Togadia and Kishore have been speaking against senior BJP leaders for quite some time. They say the BJP-led NDA government did little for the construction of the Ram temple during its six-year tenure.

A VHP leader cited how Advani had declared that December 6, 1992 — the day the Babri Masjid was demolished — was the saddest day of his life. “His flip-flops before the Liberhan Commission showed he was not committed to the Ram temple and used the issue to grab political power.”

The VHP seems satisfied with the Centre’s response to the setu movement. The government has withdrawn the affidavit questioning Ram’s historical existence and sought time from the Supreme Court to review the project.