The Hindu : Why not a win-win principle for Ayodhya too, asks Advani

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 14, 2004

National

National

Why not a win-win principle for Ayodhya too, asks Advani

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JAN. 13. The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, today said the principle of win-win situation adopted by India and Pakistan at Islamabad recently could be applied for arriving at an amicable solution to the mandir-masjid dispute at Ayodhya.

The two countries set aside their tensions and resolved that an agreement should not be construed as a victory for either side but as a win-win situation to usher in peace and prosperity. There was no reason why there could not be success in Ayodhya and a mandir built there if this spirit was accepted, Mr. Advani said here while delivering the concluding address at a meeting of BJP State unit presidents and general secretaries.

He held that the BJP's campaign for constructing a temple had not divided society as alleged by the party's detractors. The party had taken a conscious decision at its Palampur meet in 1989 about the mandir after drawing an analogy with the resolve of Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet, of which Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a member, to rebuild the Somnath temple in Gujarat. "None called it a communal act. Why don't they say the same thing about Ayodhya?"

Mr. Advani told the party cadre that they were instruments to creating history in which India and Indians had started gaining respect all over the world. The political resolution adopted by the BJP at its national executive on Monday that ``destiny has placed the responsibility of shaping India's future in the BJP's hands'' was no ordinary statement since it required party leaders to build a vision for the nation's future.

Describing the BJP's resurgence as a ``tectonic change in Indian politics,'' he attributed its progress to the party's vision for the nation. Its advocacy of nuclear deterrence, adoption of a policy of dual citizenship, tax exemption for donation to political parties, creation of smaller States and a policy of dual citizenship were ridiculed and its words dismissed as plain rhetoric. But, its vision had become a reality today.

"We are now determined to make 21st century as India's century for which you are instruments. For achieving this goal, you must have vision, sound strategy, dedicated work and managerial skills," he said.

Hailing the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for his vision, Mr. Advani said he (Mr. Vajpayee) had achieved two major breakthroughs in the recent past — the thaw in relations with Pakistan after his Islamabad visit and persuading Bhutan to uproot terrorist camps operating from its soil after providing arms and training to the neighbouring kingdom.

Foreign visitors were often surprised to learn that a leader like Mr. Vajpayee was jailed during the Emergency in 1975. Any party other than the Congress would have felt ashamed for clamping the Emergency and for undoing the sacrifices made by Jawaharlal Nehru for strengthening the roots of democracy. The party had alienated itself from democracy, he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National