RSS hints at BJP’s temple poll plank

Significantly, even as he denied any connection with the political campaign in the state, Ram Madhav was accompanied by virtually the entire team that makes up Uma Bharti’s inner coterie for this campaign — state RSS leader Anil Dave, BJP leader Shailendra Sharma and Delhi journalist Atul Jain.

Elaborating on the RSS stand, Madhav admitted that there were ‘‘perceptional differences’’ with VHP on how to go about achieving the goal of building the temple, ‘‘While VHP wants the BJP to bring about a legislation on the issue and let the government fall, we feel the legislation is not the responsibility of just the BJP but of all political parties. A consensus, as on the Women’s Reservation Bill or the Ban on Cow Slaughter, should be sought.’’

Spelling out the RSS stand, the release stated: ‘‘The only option now is for political parties to come together and find a legislative solution to the problem. There will be a massive mobilisation of popular will for the construction of Ram temple by VHP. We will call upon patriotic countrymen to participate in this peaceful and constitutional agitation and convey the sentiments of crores of our people in favour of the temple to the political establishment.’’

Distancing himself from Ashok Singhal’s remark against another term for Vajpayee, Madhav said that ‘‘we have always stood for the viewpoint that remarks should be directed at issues not personalties’’.