Three days later, Advani joins Ayodhya queue

Bowing to pressure from his supporters and detractors in the BJP and the larger Sangh Parivar, BJP president L K Advani has decided to visit...

Bowing to pressure from his supporters and detractors in the BJP and the larger Sangh Parivar, BJP president L K Advani has decided to visit Ayodhya tomorrow8212;three days after the terrorist attack on the makeshift temple.

Announcing this today, BJP spokesman Sushma Swaraj said his visit would put an end to 8216;8216;all speculation8217;8217; and blamed the media for reading too much in Advani8217;s decision not to visit the site immediately after the attack.

However, Swaraj8217;s claim that he did not go to Ayodhya the day after the attack because of the bandh called to protest the attack seemed a little thin. For, a number of BJP and VHP figures rushed to the temple town despite the strike that day.

Moreover, BJP leaders had told the media on Tuesday, the day of the attack, that Advani8212;who was returning to Delhi from Guwahati that evening8212;would visit Ayodhya the following day.

On returning to Delhi, Advani8217;s aides let it be known that no such decision had been taken and no plans of visiting Ayodhya were in the offing. Advani made two public appearances yesterday8212;he addressed demonstrators here8212;but made no mention of his intention to visit the site.

His belated decision to visit Ayodhya appears to have been taken for two reasons. First, a strong section in the BJP felt their chief8217;s decision not to go would only increase the gulf between the party and the RSS-VHP, which has been under considerable strain since Advani8217;s visit to Pakistan.

Second, Advani8217;s supporters also felt that it would give a chance to his rivals such as Murli Manohar Joshi8212;who reached Ayodhya without waiting for the party8217;s UP leaders to call him8212;score points.

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There was a feeling that Advani should not be seen as 8216;8216;fickle8217;8217; on an issue such as Ayodhya. The fact that Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited the CRPF personnel injured in the attack a day before Advani did, and the fear that Congress leaders might visit Ayodhya also may have also played a role in Advani8217;s decision.

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his comments yesterday, Sushma Swaraj made it clear that the Ayodhya issue had a special importance for the party. The Prime Minister8217;s statement which 8216;8216;reminded Jaswant Singh of Kandahar and Advani of the Parliament attack, Akshardham and Chattisinghpora8217;8217; reflected his 8216;8216;political immaturity8217;8217;, Swaraj said.

Asserting that the BJP was only performing its duty as Opposition by highlighting the security lapse that led to the strike at Ayodhya, Swaraj also pointed out that for the BJP it was not just any other terrorist attack.

8216;8216;The temple is the centre of faith of crores of Hindus who have been angered and pained by the attack. It is our duty as a political party to reflect this,8217;8217; she said.

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Advani8217;s decision to visit Ayodhya, sources said, should not be read as a 8216;8216;U-turn8217;8217;but only a response to a specific incident. The real test of his intentions will be his address to the national executive at Chennai this month which is expected to indicate whether he is serious about pursuing his post-Pakistan line, sources added.