Security personnel in Ayodhya.
For the second time in two months, the RSS-affiliated Vishwa Hindu Parishad was forced to reduce its much-hyped yatra to press for a law to build a Ram temple to mere tokenism.
Temple town Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, almost 130 km from capital Lucknow, was prepared for the worst today with over 2000 paramilitary and police personnel deployed to prevent the VHP members from taking an oath to build a temple at the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site.
The Uttar Pradesh government, already facing criticism for its failure in checking a series of communal riots in the state, repeated its August act by arresting more than a 1000 people and detaining several top leaders, including BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath.
In August this year, the state government had banned the VHP's 84 kosi parikrama, resulting in a day of high drama with top leaders of the right-wing outfit playing hide and seek with the police to dodge the heavy security.
The Sankalp Diwas, as the event today was called, was also banned. The VHP alleges that the Samajwadi Party government had banned its yatra to appease a particular community. The BJP called the ban "wrong and ridiculous" and part of the state government's "narrow vote bank politics."
The VHP is part of what is called the Sangh Parivar, headed by the Rashtriya Swayam Sevakk Sangh or RSS, which is also the ideological mentor of the BJP.
The RSS reportedly sees wisdom in resurrecting the Ram temple agenda as general elections draw closer. The attempt is for affiliated outfits to help consolidate the Hindu vote-bank for the BJP, while the political party pitches its development and good governance agenda under the stewardship of its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.
Mr Modi, who repeated his call for a Congress-free India at Chennai today, will begin his campaign in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow with a rally in Kanpur.