Lucknow:
The right-wing VHP came calling on the Yadavs of Uttar Pradesh this weekend and demanded that they be allowed to march 300 km to Ayodhya, in a contingent of saints and seers, to help build political momentum around their demand for a Ram temple at the disputed Babri Masjid-Ramjanmbhoomi site.
This evening, the Samajwadi Party government in UP refused to grant permission for the VHP yatra, soon after one of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's most trusted lieutenants and senior UP minister Azam Khan said publically that his leader should not shake hands with "the likes of the VHP as it sends a wrong message to Muslims."
Mr Yadav's party counts UP's 18 per cent Muslim vote as a primary support base. He claims he reluctantly supports the UPA government at the Centre to keep "communal forces" out of power.
Mr Khan said in a press release that he hoped Mr Yadav "will not compromise on his ideals and principals."
But the refusal of permission for the VHP yatra came from the UP government - which explained that allowing the yatra would be against the Supreme Court's order of status quo at the disputed Ayodhya site - and not the Samajwadi Party. There is still reportedly disquiet in the party on why the VHP got an almost two-hour long audience with Mr Yadav and his son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Their silence on the meeting is being seen as an attempt to strike an electoral balance with voters from both communities. Mulayam Singh, accused by the BSP's Mayawati of cosying up to the BJP just before elections by meeting the VHP, had said this morning, "Whatever the Supreme Court decides on the temple will be acceptable. There is no difference between Hindus and Muslims."
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, which is the ideological mentor of both the VHP and the BJP, is attempting to consolidate the Hindu vote base for the 2014 general elections with a cautious revival of the Hindutva agenda. While the VHP is expected to make a big push for the Ram temple, the BJP will talk about development and inclusive politics.
This evening, the Samajwadi Party government in UP refused to grant permission for the VHP yatra, soon after one of party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav's most trusted lieutenants and senior UP minister Azam Khan said publically that his leader should not shake hands with "the likes of the VHP as it sends a wrong message to Muslims."
Mr Yadav's party counts UP's 18 per cent Muslim vote as a primary support base. He claims he reluctantly supports the UPA government at the Centre to keep "communal forces" out of power.
Mr Khan said in a press release that he hoped Mr Yadav "will not compromise on his ideals and principals."
But the refusal of permission for the VHP yatra came from the UP government - which explained that allowing the yatra would be against the Supreme Court's order of status quo at the disputed Ayodhya site - and not the Samajwadi Party. There is still reportedly disquiet in the party on why the VHP got an almost two-hour long audience with Mr Yadav and his son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Their silence on the meeting is being seen as an attempt to strike an electoral balance with voters from both communities. Mulayam Singh, accused by the BSP's Mayawati of cosying up to the BJP just before elections by meeting the VHP, had said this morning, "Whatever the Supreme Court decides on the temple will be acceptable. There is no difference between Hindus and Muslims."
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, which is the ideological mentor of both the VHP and the BJP, is attempting to consolidate the Hindu vote base for the 2014 general elections with a cautious revival of the Hindutva agenda. While the VHP is expected to make a big push for the Ram temple, the BJP will talk about development and inclusive politics.
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