Back in BJP, Kalyan replays his Babri tune

‘‘As far as the Ram temple construction is concerned, the party has not given up its stand,’’ Singh told reporters when he was asked about the issues that would dominate the Lok Sabha polls. ‘‘Building the temple is not a political issue, it is a cultural issue.’’

On an election tour of Aligarh, he said it was unlikely that anyone would object to include the temple issue in the party’s ‘vision document’. ‘‘In the document, all issues will be taken up. None should have any objection (on the Ram temple) because we all want that the Ram temple should be constructed,’’ he said, warning that tension would remain as long as the issue was not settled. Echoing Kalyan Singh’s views, former BJP Uttar Pradesh chief Kalraj Mishra today said that the Ram temple would be an issue in the Lok Sabha elections, besides the achievements of NDA at the Centre and the ‘‘failure’’ of Samajwadi Party-led government in the state.
‘‘There has been remarkable progress in negotiations (to resolve the temple issue) and Muslims were now taking it seriously,’’ Mishra told reporters in Kanpur. —(with agency reports)