Katiyar takes up Modi146;s mantle

Unless Mayawati has a change of heart, Uttar Pradesh will see elections only in 2005. But BJP state chief Vinay Katiyar is obviously a man i...

Unless Mayawati has a change of heart, Uttar Pradesh will see elections only in 2005. But BJP state chief Vinay Katiyar is obviously a man in a hurry. Taking a leaf from Narendra Modi8217;s book, he is on an extensive tour of the state and while at it, is giving the Gujarat Chief Minister a run for his money.

But in a conversation with The Indian Express, Katiyar denies his whistle-stop tour 8212; he began on December 29; covers over 300 km per day, starting at 8 in the morning and ending at midnight; and just the first leg will finish on January 12 8212; is a preparation for polls. He insists it8217;s all for the cause for 8216;8216;cultural nationalism8217;8217;. These are samples from some of the speeches towards that effort since Katiyar began:

8226; Seven-lettered in Hindi Bajrang Bali can overpower three-lettered Ali if there is no peaceful co-existence.

8226; B.R. Ambedkar had predicted before Partition that if it was not done totally Hindus living in India and Muslims in Pakistan, blood would spill on the streets. His words appear true if recent incidents involving terrorists are taken into account.

8226; Terrorists come from Pakistan and attack Parliament, Raghunath and Akshardham temples. They must be getting shelter in some households in our country. Who are those giving them shelters?

8226; Building of a magnificent Ram temple in Ayodhya and ensuring 8216;8216;liberation8217;8217; of shrines at Kanshi and Mathura are necessary to establish cultural nationhood.

8226; When someone asked Sardar Patel whom he considered a national Muslim, he replied Jawaharlal Nehru. Terrorism is the gift of the Congress to the country.8217;8217;

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According to the BJP leader, far from inciting passions, his campaign 8216;8216;is what the country needs in the present impasse when it is fighting terrorism. I am simply doing that job8217;8217;.

Katiyar adds: 8216;8216;Ambedkar was a great visionary and rightly said bloodshed would continue if there isn8217;t total division during Partition. Look at what we are facing today. Terrorists are coming from Pakistan and attacking our religious places and even Parliament. We are ready to accept them the Muslims because they have their fifth or sixth generations living in this country, but only on the condition that they should be a helping hand.8217;8217;

While the rest of what he says may be familiar to audiences who have heard the former Bajrang Dal chief before, his co-opting of Ambedkar is certainly a well-thought-out strategy. His comments project Ambedkar as anti-Muslim, and discomfit Mayawati, who has slowly been taking the upper hand in their coalition government in the state. The BSP counts Dalits as its vote bank and also enjoys considerable clout among the minority community, with 14 Muslim MLAs in its ranks. Last week, Mayawati charged Katiyar8217;s claims about Ambedkar were all lies.

But ask him and Katiyar says: 8216;8216;I am not saying anything wrong. I am just quoting what great people like Ambedkar and Sardar Patel wrote years before. The only point is their writings were not brought before the people in a proper manner.8217;8217;

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However, for Mayawati, Katiyar only has another veiled threat. 8216;8216;A lotus the BJP symbol in the trunk of an elephant the BSP symbol gives it the status of a god Ganesha. That status is there till the lotus is in the trunk. This government will last full term and if it falls, it will be because of its own faults,8217;8217; the BJP chief warns.