STATEMENT BY DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

L.K. ADVANI AT AYODHYA, APRIL 6, 2004

Today, I begin the 25^th day of the Bharat Uday Yatra. Today also happens to be the foundation day of the BJP, a party I have had the privilege of being associated with since 1980. I am honoured to have begun the day in Ayodhya with a darshan of Lord Ram at the site venerated by millions as Ram Janmasthan.

Ayodhya has a special significance both for me and the BJP. In 1990, I began the Ram rath yatra from Somnath, hoping to conclude it in Ayodhya. I did not reach my destination then but the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was a defining moment in contemporary Indian history.

Many lakhs of people participated in this great upheaval and scores of people laid down their lives for the establishment of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. Tens of thousands of villages and localities contributed a consecrated Ram shilan to establish their emotional bond with the proposed Ram temple.

For the BJP, participation in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was not prompted by religiosity. We were angered by the duplicity and double-standards of then Congress government and used the occasion to initiate a much-needed debate on secularism in India.

I believe our relentless assault on what we called pseudo-secularism proved a much-needed corrective. It set the ground rules for an even-handed approach to issues affecting religious communities.

Equally, the Ayodhya movement proved a very effective antidote to attempts to fragment Hindu society along antagonistic caste lines.

I believe the phenomenal growth of the BJP between 1989 and 1996 owed a great deal to our support for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. For us, Ayodhya will always remain a potent symbol of a national awakening.

The sentiments of millions of Hindus are tied to the construction of a grand temple to Lord Ram at his birthplace in Ayodhya. As was made clear in the Vision Document released last week, the BJP remains committed to it.

In the course of the past six years, the NDA Government headed by Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has attempted to find an amicable, negotiated settlement to the problem. Various public-spirited individuals, including the Shankaracharya of Kanchi and the Dalai Lama, have used their good offices to try and bring the two sides in the dispute together for a negotiated settlement. The Government too has joined the efforts. 

I believe that a negotiated settlement will be the most desirable way to resolve the Ayodhya issue. We have already made some quiet progress. I am confident that we will be able to reach an agreement involving Hindu and Muslim representatives shortly after the new government is in place.

Goodwill, reconciliation and mutual trust are the keys to a negotiated settlement.

To ensure that the environment for a settlement is not either unsettled or vitiated by politics, the BJP has decided that it will not make the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi an electoral issue. 

This election will be fought by us on the issues of development, good governance and leadership.

To Hindus, Lord Ram is more than an epic hero and a God. He epitomises the ideals of a perfect ruler. Mahatma Gandhi used the term Ram Rajya to describe the state of perfect harmony between the citizen and the state.

I have often used Ram Rajya to describe our goal of making India a developed economy and a world power by 2020. 

The urge for a Ram Janmabhoomi temple united Hindus. The fruition of that dream will bring all Indians together. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be a vibrant symbol of a strong, prosperous and harmonious India.