Sept 27, 1999

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By raking up the temple issue, the RSS chief reassures the cadre that nothing is forgotten.

By Saba Naqvi Bhaumik

When the Sarsanghchalak speaks the parivar takes note. So when RSS chief Professor Rajendra Singh, better known as Rajju Bhaiyya, attended an innocuous book release function in Lucknow, and in the course of a rambling speech said that Muslims should hand over the three temples at Kashi, Mathura and Ayodhya to Hindus, the message simply could not be ignored. "Muslim rulers destroyed 3,000 temples," said Rajju Bhaiyya in a speech that also extolled the performance of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government. "We are not asking for 3,000 temples. Just the three Kashi-Mathura-Ayodhya representatives will satisfy Hindu society."

Why was the head of the great Hindu joint family raising issues that the BJP has been trying to downplay? More pertinently, why was he doing so in the middle of an election? As a senior RSS functionary puts it, "Rajju Bhaiyya is not naive. He knew exactly what he was saying." Moreover, he spoke at the Lucknow branch of the Vishva Samvaad Kendra, an RSS-run information network, and knew that his remarks would be widely reported.

While there is nothing new in what Rajju Bhaiyya said, the timing is significant. He made his little speech in Lucknow after the first two phases of the polls and on the eve of the third phase when the first round of voting takes place in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which together sent 80 BJP MPs to Parliament in 1998. The Sangh chief's message was aimed at the hardcore BJP voter and RSS cadre in the Hindi heartland, where slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" continue to be routinely raised at political meetings. Seshadri Chari, editor of the RSS weekly Organiser, explains: "Political compulsions force Vajpayee and Advani to say some core issues are forgotten. Govindacharya says one thing and then denies it the next day. By now the cadre is confused. It is time for Rajju Bhaiyya to speak. He is making the point that the potential of a highly emotive issue like the Ram mandir cannot be underestimated and is reassuring the cadre that these issues have not been forgotten." He was also signalling to the cadre to go all out for the BJP.

But the BJP as always gets tied in knots over these issues. Party General Secretary M. Venkaiah Naidu points out that the RSS chief has merely repeated what he has said several times in the past. "The RSS is an independent organisation. It has every right to hold its views. This is not binding on the BJP. We are governed by the National Agenda for Governance. As for the Ram mandir, we will go by the court verdict or a negotiated settlement." Party Vice-President J.P. Mathur has a somewhat different perspective: "There is no contradiction between what Rajju Bhaiyya has said and what the BJP believes in. The BJP sees Lord Ram as a symbol of good governance -- an ideal ruler and man. We still believe in these principles. But we are not raising it now because our primary concern is governance."

BJP leaders also acknowledge that the Sangh chief was reminding the party of its core values. According to a top party functionary, he is saying: "Kattar Hindu daro mat. Hum bhoole nahin. BJP tum bhi mat bhulo (Committed believer, don't fear. We have not forgotten. BJP don't forget...)." Another leader likens the contradictory noises made by the BJP and RSS to the two faces of a dholak -- rhythm is created only when both are played in unison.

Every BJP hopeful knows the value of the vast RSS network. One RSS functionary, who coordinates with the local units, is given charge of assisting each BJP candidate. BJP members who have fallen foul of the Sangh know their electoral chances can be damaged. Take the example of former parliamentary affairs minister Madan Lal Khurana, who had resigned from the Vajpayee ministry protesting against the attack on Christians and RSS interference in government.

This time round Khurana sought re-election from Delhi's Sadar seat where he was locked in a battle royale with the Congress' Jagdish Tytler. Realising that the cadre was not working for him, Khurana made a trip to the RSS' Delhi headquarters at Jhandewalan where he apologised to Organising Secretary K. Sudershan. He got a dressing down there but Sudershan also gave instructions to the local unit to work for him.

Vajpayee too had had well publicised differences with the Sangh during the early months of his reign. But a truce was called and the hotheads reigned in. This time, as a BJP MP puts it, "The RSS is backing Vajpayee to the hilt. The mobilisation is at a scale not seen since 1991."

With the RSS-BJP synergy in place, campaign '99 is proceeding smoothly. On one hand the BJP pitch is centred entirely on the personality of Vajpayee, whose liberal image brings in the incremental vote. At the same time, Rajju Bhaiyya reassures hardcore Hindutva supporters.

All the same there are grave reservations in the RSS, which demands adherence to ideology and organisation, about the personality cult emerging around Vajpayee. But the Sangh appears to have taken a tactical decision to back him for now. The calculation is that the benefits emerging from a sympathetic government would offset the ideological compromises of personality politics. Besides, as an RSS functionary explains, "If Vajpayee had a hard-line image he would not have been so popular and won so many allies. Though he may not always adhere to the Sangh diktat we know he is our man. It took us 50 years to groom one Atalji and make him pm. He is our best bet."

Although "family squabbles" with Vajpayee may increase in the future, the immediate task before the Sangh is to install him as prime minister. Hindu rashtra is still some distance away. But as Guru Golwalkar, a former RSS chief, used to tell the faithful, "We hasten slowly".

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