26 after Babri mosque demolition; politics of hate still looms

On the 26th anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition in Ayodhya by Hindutva activists, several BJP leaders made a fresh pitch for the construction of Ram temple while Left parties and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee called for upholding the country's secular fabric.

The Congress, which has been highlighting its pro-Hindu credentials to blunt the BJP's attack on it over Hindutva issues, maintained a studied silence on the matter.

Union minister Uma Bharti, a leading figure of the Ram Janambhoomi movement, "appealed" to Congress president Rahul Gandhi to support the construction of Ram temple to "honour" his holy thread and Dattatreya Brahmin lineage.

She was referring to the claims of Congress leaders that Gandhi was a "janeu-dhari" (sacred thread-wearing) Hindu. Recently at a religious ceremony, the Congress president was referred as a Dattatreya Brahmin.

Talking to reporters, she said attempts are on for coordination among various groups so that a temple can be constructed at the disputed site in Ayodhya and accused the Congress of trying to vitiate the atmosphere.

There were no comments from the Congress.

In Uttar Pradesh, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the BJP accorded the highest priority to an agreement between the warring parties for building the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

"The BJP is in favour of the Ram temple's construction either by a judgement of the Supreme Court or through mutual agreement (among parties). And if both the options are exhausted, then the legislative route must be explored. The BJP accords the highest priority to an agreement for paving the way for construction of the temple," Maurya said.

Amid the clamour for building the Ram temple, Left parties took out a protest march in the national capital with CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury accusing the ruling BJP and its Hindutva ideologue RSS of working to "destroy" the country's secular fabric.

Attacking the BJP, he said the saffron party has publicly proclaimed that it would abide by the Supreme Court order on the Ayodhya land issue but has been now talking about bringing an ordinance on the matter.

In the last four years and seven months, the BJP was "silent" on the temple issue and has been raking it up as the next general election is approaching, he alleged.

Banerjee, a bitter critic of the BJP and head of Trinamool Congress, tweeted that the anniversary of the Babri mosque demolition is observed as "Samhati Dibas" (unity day) in the state.

"Just like a human body is incomplete without all organs, India is incomplete without all communities, religions, castes, creed and gender. Let us pledge to uphold the secular fabric of India," she tweeted.

CPI national general secretary D Raja alleged that the RSS, VHP and other affiliates of the Sangh Parivar were bent on changing the character of the country.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad said it would launch a public outreach from the 'Gita Jayanti', the day when holy epic Gita was believed to have been revealed, later this month to build a movement for the construction of Ram temple.

BJP MLA Sangeet Som, who is known for making hardline and often controversial statements, said the temple will be constructed before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls while calling for unity among Hindus.

The VHP and Bajrang Dal also burst crackers at several places to mark the day while Muslim outfits held protests to express grief over the mosque's demolition.

A member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Khalid Rashid Firangimahli, handed over a memorandum to the District Magistrate of Lucknow addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on behalf of the board

demanding justice in the demolition case.

Five left parties - CPI(M), CPI, All India Forward Bloc, RSP and CPI (ML)-Liberation - observed December 6 as 'Defend the Constitution and Secularism Day' and held joint demonstrations and meetings on Thursday here.