New Delhi, April 3
The BJP has returned to its core Hindutva agenda after a gap of 11 years but rather apologetically when it released its manifesto here today. Breaking the jinx of two successive elections, the party released its manifesto this time and reiterated its commitment to the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Later, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani left a window of retreat open by announcing, “We are going to contest the elections as the NDA…I will give this (the manifesto) to them (NDA allies) and seek their views on it. Whatever is acceptable to them will be incorporated in the National Agenda for Governance (NAG), which will be jointly issued by the NDA before April 16.”
Since Advani became the party president in 1986, the BJP has pushed three-key issues, which Advani and other BJP leaders have repeatedly asserted as the core agenda of the BJP.
The first among them was the demolition of Babri Masjid and the erection of Ram temple in its place. The second was the abrogation of the Article 370, relating to Jammu and Kashmir, and the third was the enforcement of the Uniform Civil Code, disallowing Muslim men from retaining four wives simultaneously.
Today’s 48-page manifesto prepared by a vast committee led by former BJP presidents Murli Manohar Joshi and M Venkaiah Naidu incorporated all these issues.
During the NDA regime, the Sangh Parivar, including the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, had been pressing the BJP to allow it to begin construction of the temple. The BJP had contemplated bringing in legislation to acquire the disputed land to begin the construction. But allies were a little uncomfortable and the NDA government stuck to resolving the Ayodhya issued either through a court verdict or negotiated settlement.
Without specifically mentioning legislation the manifesto says, “The BJP will explore all possibilities, including negotiations and judicial proceedings, to facilitate the construction of the temple in Ayodhya.”
Both BJP president Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi stressed the need for the party to reiterate its core agenda and Joshi underlined its significance saying, “The way we have raised our core agenda issues, we have managed to achieve this credibility that we enjoy today.”
On the Article 370 it said, “The party remains committed to the abrogation of the Article.”
It also promised to revive POTA and also extend it to all states but also stated, “The BJP will initiate the following measures within 100 days: Launch a massive programme to detect, detain and deport illegal immigrants.”
An important member of Advani’s think tank Arun Shourie was a member of the Manifesto Drafting Committee. Shourie and party vice-president Yashwant Sinha had campaigned hard against the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and Shourie had promised that if the BJP voted to power, it would re-negotiate the deal. But Shourie seems to have forgotten about this while drafting the manifesto, as it is completely silent on this aspect.
