The Hindu : National : Advani skirts Ayodhya issue

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Advani skirts Ayodhya issue

Nagpur: BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani on Saturday night steered clear of the emotive Ayodhya issue, hours after the party chief Rajnath Singh raked up the matter declaring that the party was committed to building a temple for Lord Ram.

At a largely attended public meeting, as part of his series of Vijay Sankalp Yatra, Mr. Advani neither referred to Ayodhya nor other contentious issues of the saffron party like abrogation of Article 370 and common civil code. He, however, acknowledged his and the party’s RSS orientation by claiming the BJP to be “the political face of the nationalist movement of the RSS,” which started from Nagpur prior to Independence.

His skirting of the Ayodhya issue came close on the heels of two National Democratic Alliance constituents — the Janata Dal (United) and the Biju Janata Dal — distancing themselves from the BJP’s stand making it clear that it (the Ayodhya issue) would not form part of the NDA’s agenda.

In his 30-minute speech, Mr. Advani sought a 10-year mandate for the BJP-led NDA to make India a leading power in the comity of nations. — PTI

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