The BJP here today tried to put up a bold front in the aftermath of the failure of the Kanchi Shankaracharya’s initiative on Ayodhya. Party general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi declared: ‘‘Talks are still on. We are hopeful of finding a solution’’.VHP spokesman Veereshwar Dwivedi, when reached for comments, told The Indian Express: ‘‘I can only wish the BJP good luck’’. He said the BJP would rather look at the fate of similar initiatives in the past. ‘‘This time round, they (BJP leadership) have had our Shankaracharyaji humiliated by entangling him in the parleys,’’ he said.‘‘Top BJP leaders can not wash their hands of the initiative, now that it has floundered. They must know that their credibility before people as well in the Sangh Parivar stands eroded. I leave it to them to ponder on how can they redeem it.’’Back to the BJP. Naqvi, when asked who was talking to whom, said ‘‘The parties involved in the dispute’’. This implied that some litigants in the court case from amongst members of both communities were talking to each other. The claim somehow seemed incredible, for, Naqvi could neither specify the individuals concerned, nor give any other details on the supposed dialogue.Since neither the Shankaracharya nor the All India Muslim Personal Law Board was a party in the court case, it appeared inconceivable that the Government would have kept any litigant out of the loop, had there been one willing to join the efforts for a compromise.Naqvi blamed the ‘‘Taliban mindset’’ of certain individuals for the failure of the Shankarcharya’s initiative, but gave a clean chit to ‘‘nationalist organisations’’ (members of the Sangh Parivar). It was obvious that the party attributed the failure to the Muslim community, though it did not show the guts to say as much.The BJP general secretary enumerated the ‘‘legislative option’’ among the routes to a solution. He cited ‘‘our commitment to the NDA common minimum programme’’ for not undertaking it. However, he expected the Congress to extend its help to pass a law to facilitate the construction of a Ram temple ‘‘if it is interested in the resolution of one of the problems created by it’’.Dwivedi, when reminded of the BJP bondage to the NDA agenda, said: ‘‘Let them come out of the Government for the sake of their principles. Didn’t they take out rath yatras for the sake of Ram? Didn’t they vow to liberate the birthplace of Ram and build a grand temple there by passing a resolution at their national executive meeting at Palampur?’’As for the AIMPLB insistence on the rule of law, equality and democracy, the VHP leader said: ‘‘How convenient! Weren’t some of the same men abusing the judiciary when the Shah Bano case verdict was pronounced? Or they don’t remember it?’’ Meanwhile, BJP’s UP unit chief Vinay Katiyars said: ‘‘I have a formula for resolution of the row but I will disclose it at the right time.”
