BJP blames Opposition for raising Ayodhya

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 4. Mr. Bangaru Laxman, Bharatiya Janata Party president, today blamed the Opposition for attempting to disrupt the process of implementation of the National Agenda for Governance ``by raising the question of Ayodhya'' even as he claimed that the ``call'' given by the party to the minorities, Dalits and others to come closer to the party had yielded ``remarkable results''.

Steering clear of the Ayodhya controversy generated by the Prime Minister's statements describing the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya as an ``expression of national sentiments'', he preferred to take the moderate line, squarely blaming the Opposition while saying that the NDA Government was committed to ``carry on the good work conforming to the coalition dharma''.

His opening address to the BJP's national executive committee meeting here lacked the fire witnessed in Nagpur where he had described Muslims as ``flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood''. This time he was content to note that the ``response'' from ``those sections of society who had hitherto been lukewarm to the BJP'' was now ``overwhelming''. The party had been able to ``remove the longstanding misconceptions in their minds about us.'' In short, his new message was that the ``Nagpur message'' to the party had not been wiped out by the recent Ayodhya controversy.

Claiming that last year had seen an expansion of the party's base, he nevertheless indirectly admitted that the party would continue to need allies in the States going for Assembly polls this year, stating that the party must ``begin the exercise of identifying potential allies'' and putting together ``effective strategies.''

Today the party adopted a resolution on agriculture situation and tomorrow it was expected to adopt two resolutions, one on Kashmir and the other on the Northeast situation.

In his speech today Mr. Laxman touched upon Kashmir. Appreciating the Prime Minister's ceasefire initiative, he approved of the Government pursuing economic reforms, and he was sure the Government had taken enough measures against the unrestricted flow of cheap Chinese goods that were being ``dumped'' into this country.

It was on Assam that the party president lashed out against the Sate Government charging it with failure to protect the lives of innocent citizens. ``The militants in the State have a free run. The State Government has proved its incapacity to arrest their activities. The State is crying for change,'' he said. And finally, the anti-India violence in Nepal came in for some comment. He saw it as a ``deliberate attempt'' to spoil the harmonious ties between India and Nepal.

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