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THE NATION: AYODHYA DISPUTE
Invisible Dialogue
Vajpayee has promised a solution by March next year.
But who is he talking to? Nobody knows.
By Sharad Gupta
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DEAD DIALOGUE: Vajpayee's interlocutors on Ayodhya talks are still
a mystery
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Scooping rabbits
out of a hat is not a skill particularly attributed to Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
So when the prime minister, on a visit to Lucknow last week, declared
that a solution to the Ayodhya imbroglio was at hand-and only six months
away-the nation was suitably agog. Only, the surprise was tempered with
a large measure of scepticism: the placatory undertone implicit in the
promise was hard to ignore. Not only does the BJP face a bleak prospect
in the approaching assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, but the time frame
set by the prime minister coincides with the March 12 deadline set by
the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to begin the Ram temple construction.
To lend credence to his declaration Vajpayee
announced in Parliament that he was trying to string together a negotiated
settlement, even as he cryptically refused to divulge the details of his
dialogue or identify the parties concerned. Adding to the mystery, the
two main warring parties, the VHP and the All India Babri Masjid Action
Committee (AIBMAC), denied holding any dialogue with Vajpayee. "He
has not tried to have a dialogue with Muslim organisations since he took
over as prime minister three years ago," says AIBMAC Convener Zafaryab
Jilani. VHP General Secretary (International) Praveen Togadia concurs:
"Nobody from the Centre has spoken to us on Ayodhya." Other
groups like the Jamaat-e-Ulema, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League
have also denied contacts with the Centre.
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PRAVEEN TOGADIA
"Vajpayeeji must have something in mind"
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 Mass
mobilisation has already begun, VHP General Secretary (International)
Praveen Togadia tells Assistant Editor Sharad Gupta. Excerpts:
Q. Has the prime minister spoken to anyone
in the VHP on the Ayodhya issue?
A. There
has been no communication since January when we apprised him of
the resolution on temple construction after March 12, 2002.
Q. How can Vajpayee find a solution
without talking to the VHP?
A. I
have known Vajpayeeji for a long time. He won't utter a word he
doesn't want to say. He must have something in mind.
Q. If no solution is found before the
deadline in 2002, what will the VHP do?
A.
We are ready to take on any authority. The Hindus are not ready
to compromise anymore. At least five crore people are expected to
reach Ayodhya between February 17 and March 12.
Q. Is the prime minister's assurance
a result of the VHP's mobilisation programme?
A. Of
course. Media reports about our activities must be weighing on his
mind. But the VHP does not depend on any Government decision to
carry
on its movement.
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The last time the VHP leaders talked to Vajpayee
was in January this year after the organisation declared the March deadline.
The saffron brigade has not been idle either, mobilising support for a
December 6, 1992-like movement when the demolition of Babri masjid convulsed
the entire nation. "This time the movement will be on a much bigger
scale. The Centre will be forced to shift the capital from Delhi to Ayodhya,"
claims Togadia.
Such claims may be partly responsible for Vajpayee
stumbling from one stand to another since December last year, now a hawk
and now a dove. When he termed the Ayodhya movement an "expression
of national sentiments" and "an unfinished task" it was
construed as a bid to divert the Opposition's attention which was demanding
the resignation of three Union ministers-L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and Uma
Bharati-in the Babri case. But it could also have been an attempt to keep
hardline allies like the RSS and Shiv Sena in good humour.
Then at Kumarakom in Kerala, Vajpayee veered
towards moderation. "Unfinished task" meant the dispute is yet
to be settled and "expression of national sentiments", he explained,
was deliberately referred to in the past tense. A stern warning was also
issued to Hindutva hawks: "I wish to make it absolutely clear the
law will take its course should any organisation try to disturb the status
quo. The Government will not be a silent spectator."
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