Advani sets off, riding on temple, terror

Advani, who was presented with a bow and arrow before the rath rolled, urged the Muslim community to come to the talks table, saying we should learn from our 1,000-year-old history and forget religious barriers.

8216;8216;The BJP always wanted to construct a Ram temple at Ayodhya, be it through a court decision, talks between both communities or an amendment. A resolution to this effect could not be passed due to the NDA alliance8217;s unwillingness8230;And not everyone will be happy with a court8217;s verdict,8217;8217; he said.

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan were present to see Advani off.

However, while BJP women and male volunteers were all wearing saffron to add colour to the proceedings, and even schoolchildren had been trucked in to add to the numbers, the crowd wasn8217;t quite what the party had been projecting.

The yatra, which incidentally began on the BJP8217;s foundation day, will end on May 108212;the anniversary of the Revolt of 1857, as Advani pointed out.

Elaborating on the yatra8217;s mission to 8216;8216;highlight increasing terrorist attacks in India and raising public opinion against the UPA8217;s pro-terrorist policy8217;8217;, the senior leader said that 8216;8216;Bharat Suraksha8217;8217; means overall security8212;political, economical and social8212;for Indians. 8216;8216;Security from terrorists and foreign attacks is always a prime concern. But people should also get protection from economical, social and political dangers,8217;8217; Advani stressed.

The yatra has nothing to do with elections, he claimed. 8216;8216;We aim to bring an overall change8212;the way the Ram Rath Yatra changed the country8217;s political scenario.8217;8217;

Modi too addressed the crowd, drawing applause for his criticism of the UPA Government over law and order issues8212;including abolition of POTA8212;and the formation of the U C Banerjee Committee to look into the Godhra Sabarmati train fire. 8216;8216;If the Supreme Court can punish one person for turning hostile, why can8217;t action can be taken against a committee set up to shield culprits? The law should be equal for all,8217;8217; he said.

Along the route, including at Atkot, Jasdan and Vinchiya, Advani spoke about how terrorism has become a global issue. 8216;8216;Till 9/11, the US was not aware about terrorism. But that changed its mindset,8217;8217; he said at Vinchiya.

However, again, the BJP leader returned to the temple theme: 8216;8216;The BJP is not against minorities but is against the policy of favouring minorities to create a vote bank. The BJP would like to see the Muslim community say yes to Ram mandir construction.8217;8217;