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Playing with fire in U.P.

The last thing the boiling political cauldron of Uttar Pradesh needed was for the temple town of Varanasi to be hit by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Of the two sites chosen for Tuesday's inhuman attack, one was the hoary temple of Sankat Mochan, where the faithful seek deliverance from hardship. Fortunately, Varanasi, a wise, old city that glories in its devotion as also in its respect for diversity, has shown the inner strength and resilience characteristic of ancient civilisations. Its people have effortlessly defeated the terrorist project of creating communal disharmony. The least that democratic political parties could do was to unite on this issue to avert wider trouble. For once, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress seemed to understand they were in this together. Senior Congress leaders urged cooperation with Chief Minister Mulayam Singh, who, in turn, appeared thankful for the support. Muslim leaders, cutting across party lines, condemned the attacks. Tragically, this wisdom was not evident in saffron quarters. The Bharatiya Janata Party announced the launch of the "National Integration Twin Yatra" — to be charioted by no less than Lal Krishna Advani and his successor, Rajnath Singh. Lest the term "integration" should conjure up goody-goody images of peace and amity, there was a clarification: the yatras were intended to fight the United Progressive Alliance's policies of "minorityism" and "vote bank politics." The Leader of the Opposition added for good measure that the yatra routes would be drawn up keeping in mind the coming elections to five State Assemblies.

Such opportunism takes the breath away. The UPA is accused of pursuing "vote bank politics" by a party that flagrantly seeks votes on the issue of "minorityism." The damage potential of two simultaneous yatras, self-confessedly on a mission to stoke majoritarian sentiment, should be evident to anyone familiar with the Hindu Right's divisive agenda. Yet the BJP ought to know that the politics of yatra has played itself out. The party's vote peaked in the aftermath of Mr. Advani's Ram rath yatra — the trail of death and destruction left in its wake polarised communities to the advantage of the party. The subsequent yatras have fetched steadily diminishing returns. Consider the eminently forgettable list: Ekta Yatra, December 1991; Janadesh Yatra, September 1993; Su-raj (Good Governance) Yatra, March 1996; Swarna Jayanti Yatra, May 1997; and finally Bharat Uday Yatra on the eve of the 14th general election. The attempt to link the March 7 calamity with "minorityism" has a dangerous communal undertone, as though India's 140 million-strong "community" of Muslims can somehow be held accountable for the inhumanity of Lashkar terrorists. The BJP can ill afford to forget Kandahar, December 1999 when its Government surrendered ignominiously to Pakistan- and Taliban-supported terrorism. That surely was no "minorityism."

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