Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh today said that the Bharatiya Janata Party made Ram Janmbhoomi a national issue after they realised that Atal Bihar Vajpayee’s Gandhian socialism failed in 1984. Digvijaya Singh made the remarks during the launch of his colleague Salman Khurshid’s book on the Ayodhya verdict. The book has been titled “Sunrise over Ayodhya”. Singh claimed that Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and the RSS had never made Ram Janmbhoomi an issue before 1984.
“When they remained confined to just two seats in 1984, they decided to make this a national issue (Ram Janmabhoomi dispute) because Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Gandhian socialism failed in 1984,” said Digvijaya Singh.
He said that the BJP was forced to walk the path of hardcore fanatic religious fundamentalism and accused Lal Krishna Advani of sowing the seeds of hatred. “They were forced to walk the path of hardcore fanatic religious fundamentalism with which RSS and its ideology is known. Advani Ji’s yatra was the one that divided the society. He sowed seeds of hatred wherever he went,” said Digvijaya Singh.
During his opening remarks, Singh said, “In the history of this country, the destruction and vandalisation of temples on religious grounds had been happening since before the advent of Islam…. There is no doubt that when a king used to conquer another king, then he also used to impose his religion over that king’s religion. It did not start after the arrival of Islam, it had been happening before.” Singh added that today, it has been publicised that the vandalisation of temples took place after Islam came to India and only they are responsible for it.
Singh said that wherever fascism enters, it becomes necessary for it to first identify an enemy, that this is enemy and can harm thus unite to fight it. “They create hatred using fear and then adopt violence, it has been an old method of fascism,” said Singh.