Will heed order,but faith not a court matter: Jaswant

Jaswant Singh said that matters of faith cannot be settled by a court of law.

Ahead of the September 24 verdict on the Ayodhya issue,senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh underscored on Thursday that matters of faith cannot be settled by a court of law,and that any lasting solution to the vexed issue would have to be found through an out-of-court settlement.

However,he maintained that the verdict would have to be respected,whatever it may be. While refraining from coming out clearly on whether the Ram Mandir issue had outlived its political potency for the BJP,Singh suggested that it would be a good idea for the party to have a brainstorming session after the verdict to chart the future course.

No court can possibly settle issues of faith, he told The Indian Express in an interview. There are certain issues that courts can simply never settle.

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Any settlement through the parliamentary route on Ayodhya was also not a wise one,he said,adding that it would only lead to further exacerbation as Parliament itself is a conflict-driven institution these days. Some in the RSS,significantly,have supported a solution backed by legislation. Singh pointed out that senior leader LK Advani had cautioned party leaders against making statements,and to await the verdict and respect it.

He maintained that the BJP approach,all along,had been one that addressed constitutional,legal and peaceful criteria. Recollecting the time when the BJP was in power,Singh said that very concerted and serious efforts were made by the parties then to find an amicable out-of-court settlement. Both the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and deputy prime minister L K Advani backed the discussions between the various parties involving leaders of the Babri Action Committee and other Muslim leaders, he said.

When asked about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwats assertion earlier this week that the Sangh Parivar response will be in deference to wishes of Hindus who wanted a temple at Ayodhya,Singh said he did not see any contradiction in the statement and any adverse verdict. While the approach is constitutional,the hope and expectation is that there ought to be a Mandir. In any case,you always have the option of going to a higher court if you are not satisfied with the courts verdict, he said.

The senior leader,who finds discomforting the charges that the BJP has always politically exploited the Ram Mandir issue,hinted the time had come for the party to move from the issue. If you ask me if the BJP ought to be inclusive or exclusive,without any doubt,the BJP has to be inclusive. How can a political party which aspires to be a national party and is a national party work on the basis of yesterday? It has to move. And that really applies to everyone,even the Congress and the Communists. What ails the Communists is they continue to be trapped in yesterday. Even the Congress is trapped in what I believe is dry dynasticism, he said.