For the BJP, this is a real test

It must not allow the festering Ayodhya issue to get out of hand

2018 isn’t 1992, but it’s hard to ignore the significant intensification in clamour for a Ram temple at Ayodhya over the past few months. A big show of strength by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate in Ayodhya on November 25 is to be followed by another event in the capital on November 9.

From the RSS to the VHP to even the

Shiv Sena, various groups and parties have become aggressive in their assertions that a temple has to be built. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s president Amit Shah has said his party will wait for the Supreme Court’s January hearing but that it would have built a temple in Ayodhya long ago if it had its way. The Shiv Sena has said that the outcome of the 2019 elections hinges on the building of the temple. And RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said the time for patience is over.

The Congress, for its part, has been soft pedalling the issue with its embrace of soft-Hindutva . Other parties, barring the All India Masjlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, have also steered clear of the issue. There are reports now that some Muslims have started moving out of Ayodhya. There has also been a lot of talk about how the temple has divine sanction and will come up irrespective of what the Supreme Court rules. The Supreme Court will hear the case as a title dispute, which is as it should be, but its decision to hear the case in January (and not October as it was supposed to) has, in some ways, resulted in all parties concerned upping the ante. Indeed, even the prime minister, in an election campaign meeting, alleged that pressure is being brought upon the court to push the case to after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh and the Centre have to ensure that as much as they support the cause of a Ram temple, they have to ensure that law and order is maintained. For the BJP, this is a real test.

The temple is an emotive issue with a large cohort of its constituents. Yet, if it pushes an ordinance at this stage, it would just be giving opponents a convenient political handle to beat it with. For now, all it can do is hope that the clamour for a temple does not get out of hand and that the court resolves the issue soon.