Sri Sri's Ram Mandir foray a deja vu of Vajpayee's tactic: Book
New Delhi, June 12: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee kept a distance from the Ram temple movement and in private conversations objected to its agitational stance, according to a new book titled "Shades of Saffron: From Vajpayee to Modi" by seasoned journalist Saba Naqvi.
The book, said to reveal "hitherto unknown aspects" about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), points out that Vajpayee openly admitted to "being irritated by questions about the Ram temple in Ayodhya".
But Naqvi, who has had the first-hand experience of covering the BJP for well over two decades, contends that "the building of a grand Ram temple was a core issue that the BJP couldn't afford to ignore".
"Vajpayee therefore made a subtle change in tack and said that it was no longer necessary for a BJP government to enact a legislation to build a temple at Ayodhya," Naqvi writes in the book, published by Westland.
"We will resolve the issue through dialogue -- the same way we resolved the Azadari dispute between the Shias and Sunnis of Lucknow. A law will not be needed," Vajpayee, who is currently undergoing treatment for urinary tract infection at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) here, is quoted as saying in the book.
In this context, Naqvi explains that it is fascinating that the "issue is again central to the BJP as it heads for the 2019 general elections" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm.
"There are still legal constraints on the party's desire to build a ‘magnificent Ram temple at Ayodhya' and the same path is again being trod almost two decades later by some individuals like Sri Sri Ravishankar who's trying to get stakeholders to resolve matters," Naqvi notes in the 284-page book.
She also points out that several informed people on both sides say that the long-awaited verdict on the disputed land "could be delivered in 2018", before the general elections.
"What's more, in May 2017, the Supreme Court of India also revived criminal conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti for bringing down the Babri mosque," she adds.
In the context of Ram mandir, the book also touches upon an earlier conversation between the author and late Kushabhau Thakre, who became party president of the BJP in 1998.
"‘Can anyone think about India without Ram?' he once asked me, but added with utmost honesty that ‘We can only implement our ideology if we have the strength to do so. Yeh sab hamara karyakram hai, lekin shakti nahin hai' (All this is in our agenda but we lack the strength to pursue it)," Naqvi recalls in the book.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had earlier told IANS that the best solution to the festering Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is an out-of-court settlement under which the Muslims gift the land to the Hindus for building a grand Ram temple.
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Nothing wrong if Kharge wants to come back to Karnataka politics: G Parameshwara
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said there is nothing wrong if party national President Mallikarjun Kharge wants to return to state politics.
He was responding to a question from reporters on Kharge's remarks, recalling how he lost the Chief Minister's post to S M Krishna after the 1999 Karnataka Assembly polls. Kharge's remarks added to the speculations of leadership change in Congress and about his return to state politics.
Senior Congress leader Parameshwara also said that wrongly interpreting Kharge is also not correct.
Kharge's statement seems to have rekindled the debate on 'Dalit CM' within the party. The AICC President, who hails from Karnataka, belongs to a Scheduled Caste.
Making a Dalit the CM is a hotly debated matter within the Congress party, the issue on which senior leaders and Ministers Parameshwara and H C Mahadevappa have openly spoken in the past. Both belong to Scheduled Castes.
These comments have come amid speculations within the state's political circles, especially within the ruling Congress, for some time now about the Chief Minister change later this year, citing a rumoured power-sharing agreement involving incumbent Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar.
"Kharge is a senior leader not only in our party, but in national politics, making comments on him is not right. Kharge is competent to hold all kinds of positions; he has experience, and he has been in politics for about 50 years. If he says something, interpreting it wrongly is not correct," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question.
Asked about some speaking about his return to state politics, he said, "There is nothing wrong in it. He is holding the decisive position in our party. He is the one who decides as to who should be the Chief Minister, being the AICC President. So, in case he wants to come back to state politics, no one should interpret it wrong."
Speaking at an event in Vijayapura on Sunday, Kharge had recalled about him missing the Chief Ministerial post, when Congress came to power in 1999.
"As CLP (Congress Legislature Party) leader I tried to bring the party to power (ahead of 1999 polls), the party formed the government and S M Krishna became the Chief Minister. He had come (as KPCC President) four months ahead (of polls)....all my service was washed down the river. I feel that -- I toiled for five years, but the person who came four months ago was made the CM," the Congress chief had said.
"What I'm trying to say is, we may face difficulties, but we must continue to work without greed in mind. If you are greedy, you won't get anything, also you won't be able to do what's in your mind. Passing through all these things, from being a block president, I have now become AICC President. I did not go behind positions," he further said.
Mahadevappa too, reacting to Kharge's statement on Monday had said, Kharge is one of the senior leaders in the country and he has all the required qualities to occupy any constitutional post, and our wish is that he should get an opportunity, whenever there is one.
Naming Dalit leaders in Congress who have occupied the CM post in other states like -- Damodaram Sanjivayya, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Jagannath Pahadia and Ram Sundar Das, he said, "When time comes the party will take a decision and everyone will abide by it."
However, trying to downplay speculations, Kharge's son and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said his father was merely sharing the path he had walked in his political career -- both ups and downs -- and that his speech should be seen in entirety not selectively. He has also made it clear that he has no regrets.
"From the blessings of everyone, the people of Kalaburagi and Karnataka, he is in the post that was once occupied by Subhas Chandra Bose and Gandhiji. Whatever he has decided on his political future, he will decide himself. He has earned that respect and reputation. He has a good relationship with the high command. Whatever he decides, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will automatically accept it," he said.
