Lucknow, December 07: Hindutva will remain relevant to the BJP, but the Ram temple issue will not be a part its political campaign in Uttar Pradesh this time, party president Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.
“We are not for making the Ram temple a political issue or subject of our political campaign this time,” Gadkari told The Indian Express.
On the 19th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid, the BJP president maintained that the construction of a temple in Ayodhya was an issue of faith for the BJP and for believers in other political parties as well that should not be viewed through the prism of politics.
“It is a part of our faith and belief that the place where Lord Ram was born, there should be a grand temple there. In any case, the high court has given clear verdict on temple issue. But, we should not politicise our religious beliefs and faith. Even in other parties, there are many who think that Lord Ram’s temple should be there in Ayodhya,” Gadkari said, adding that he always favoured a change in the political discourse. “It should not only be power politics. Let there be politics of development and progress. That is Ram Rajya,” he said.
Rejecting the contention that the BJP was trying to brush the temple issue under the carpet, he said: “We are clear that some issues should not be part of political agenda. We have never hidden this. But the problem is when the media asks, we have to reply. And when we reply, then you say we are politicising it.”
The BJP president added that Hindutva was the “soul” of the BJP and its relevance for the party would remain undiminished. “The problem is how one sees and understands Hindutva. We have never abandoned it nor will abandon it. Hindutva is a way of life. It is the basis on which we propose Ram Rajya or good governance to make the country strong and self-reliant. It is part of that politics,” he said.
With regard to Uttar Pradesh, Gadkari made it clear that the BJP would not have any truck with the BSP or SP either before or after the Assembly elections in the state. “As BJP president, I am saying that directly or indirectly, the BJP will not have any alliance with Mayawati or Mulayam Singh. If the people vote us to power we will be in government, if not then we will sit in the Opposition,” he said.
Gadkari also indicated that former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti could be a candidate in the Assembly elections. “The issue of candidates will be decided by the party’s election committee. But why not, after all she is a national leader,” he said.
He added that the Assembly election in UP would be fought under the joint leadership of Rajnath Singh, Kalraj Mishra, Surya Pratap Shahi (state president) and Uma Bharti.
——Agencies