All in the Parivar: VHP rings in poll peace

RSS spokesman Ram Madhav denied any such move. ‘‘We have given no such advice (to the VHP),’’ he said. ‘‘Leave aside RSS Sarsanghchalak K.S. Sudarshan, no one has suggested to me not to say anything during my four years in this post,’’ VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia said. The denials notwithstanding, the sparring Parivar members are no longer engaging each other.

Togadia, who reached Ahmedabad today, had little to say on the NDA’s poll campaign. ‘‘India will shine when the temple is built. Hindus will not feel good till the temple is built,’’ he said, skirting queries on Advani’s Bharat Uday yatra. ‘‘I have nothing to comment. Every political party or leader has the right to politically educate people.’’

He also dismissed claims that the VHP had deprived itself of the credit for the BJP victory in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. ‘‘We never work to claim credit. We act as watchmen over Hindu interests. We would play this role in current polls too,’’ he said.

VHP spokesman Veereshwar Dwivedi disclosed that the signature campaign for the temple by MPs was off following the Lok Sabha dissolution. ‘‘We will reach out to two crore people to motivate them to support only candidates and parties committed to the Hindu agenda adopted at our Hyderabad meeting last month,’’ Dwivedi said.

The BJP has also moved a bit to address VHP concerns. The party is set to come out with a Vision 2004 document to reaffirm its ideological moorings, somewhat resembling the VHP’s Hindu agenda. The fireworks, if any, will perhaps have to wait till the elections are over.