NATIONAL POLITICS

CPI(M) Leader H.S. Surjeet on Defence of Secularism

The charge sheeting is being sought to be exploited by the Hindutva forces to their advantage.

BJP president L K Advani in a signed editorial in the BJP Today, has clearly indicated that in the coming days the BJP will harp on justifying it’s shameful deed at Ayodhya. Mr. Advani nonchalantly, states that the demolition was not a matter of regret. But in order to circumvent the legal implications adds that "what is regretted is the manner in which it happened".

In an interview in the latest issue of the RSS Hindi mouthpiece Panchjanya, Advani has come up with the new slogan of freeing "Lord Ram from imprisonment" from the barricades put up by the government. In a bid to arouse passions, (he) has said that "Sri Ram Lalla is actually in prison. The sooner he is released the better."

Kalyan Singh, who, despite being charge sheeted in the Ayodhya case, has been chosen to be the BJP's chief minister in UP, said immediately after assuming office that "I reiterate that the BJP is fully committed to the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya but this can be taken up only when we have our own government at the Centre. The BJP leadership is all set to capitalise on the Ayodhya issue again.

While the Muslim leadership was willing to accept a solution arrived at through negotiations failing which it would accept a court verdict, the BJP adamantly refused to have anything to do with the courts.

The CPI(M) has (also) been consistently maintaining that such issues cannot be settled by force. A process of negotiations should be started for arriving at a solution, and if it fails the matter should be left to the courts. It is the refusal of the BJP and its allied outfits to accept this that was to lead to the subsequent deplorable developments. The BJP has been bidding to gain electoral allies by giving an impression that it is not a rank communal party. The RSS ideology knocks the bottom out of the secular basis of our society and polity. This has dangerous implication given the fact that the minority population in the country is not less than 20%. Those parties who have aligned with the BJP will have to rethink their strategies or will have to completely identify with the Hindutva ideology and plank of the party or worse still merge with it .

From the statement and the articles and interviews given by Advani, Kalyan Singh and other BJP leaders, it has become absolutely clear that they have come to the conclusion that they cannot compromise or dilute their philosophy of Hindutva. They have once again decided to make Ayodhya their main plank with the focus on construction of the Ram temple on the ruins of Babari Masjid.

This poses a big challenge to the Left, democratic and secular forces. The defence of national unity has once again become a major task . We have to arouse the people against the dangerous moves (of) the BJP. We have to revive the traditions of the national liberation struggle of secularism and patriotism. This challenge has to be met.