When Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee returned to Ayodhya for a rally after 13 years, the crowd shouting ‘‘Jai Shri Ram’’ waited for what he had to say about the temple. He kept the issue for the fag end of a 25-minute speech dominated by development, NDA’s achievements and unfinished agenda, played it down and said it should be resolved by ‘‘wisdom, co-operation and in the spirit of friendship.’’In the town to inaugurate a new Katra-Ayodhya rail line and a rail bridge over river Saryu, the PM told a party rally: ‘‘One of the works that is incomplete and has to be finished by us is the construction of Ram Mandir at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.In my view, all should sit together and resolve the issue by wisdom, cooperation and in spirit of friendship — ‘samajhdari, sahyog aur sadbhavna.’’ According to him, the other available option — of the courts — was a long-winding one and could go in any direction. The crowd which was getting restive when he focussed on development and achievements of the NDA government cheered when he talked about the mandir.Seeking a re-election, Vajpayee said that his government needed five more years to complete the unfinished works and start new ones. Among the unfinished tasks, he said, were linking of rivers, roads and rail connecting all parts of the country, making education accessible to all and the Women’s Reservation Bill. ‘‘Face of the country is changing,’’ was a theme which ran through his speech. On the domestic front, he said, in addition to providing political stability and holding credible elections in J-K, they had won the Kargil war, handled natural disasters effectively, ensured peace at the borders where both, firing and infiltration had stopped.In his view, Vajpayee said, matters which could be resolved peacefully, should be done that way. Replying to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s statement — that he dreamt like Mungeri Lal — Vajpayee said, ‘‘Yes, I dream. But I also realise them.’’ The PM said that the days of immature criticism were over. ‘‘It is time to make India a progressive country and stand along with the developed countries of the world by 2020,’’ he said. While Vajpayee preferred to downplay the Ram Temple issue, other speakers chose to hype it, playing on the crowd’s mood. From the Vinay Katiyar to Rajnath Singh and Kalyan Singh who came back— all raised the pitch on the issue. ‘‘Atal ka naam, NDA ka kaam aur sabse upar Ram’’ was going to win the elections for the BJP, Kalyan said.
