'This case concerns 700 million Hindus, they are all involved in it'

The Bharatiya Janata Party is not reacting to the CBI charges against party president L K Advani in the Ayodhya case. Yet.

BJP spokesman Yashwant Sinha said the party had no official response to the charge being brought by the CBI against Advani and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case, adding that the party would first consult legal experts before framing an adequate response.

Sinha, however, indicated that the case, as far as the party was concerned, was prompted by political motives and therefore, there was no question of Advani relinquishing his post as BJP president. "In any criminal case," he added, "there are various stages, like preliminary investigations, the framing of charges, the trial, etc. This is just the first stage, and it is premature to comment right now."

Asked what the party leadership would do now, Sinha reiterated that the first step was to get hold of the chargesheet framed by Special Judge R N Srivastava in Lucknow on Tuesday, after which the BJP's legal advisors would examine it before deciding on the next step.

Advani will be advised, among others, by Guman Mal Lodha, the former Assam chief justice and BJP MP, and Arun Jaitley, one of the country's finest lawyers.

A senior BJP leader claimed the case was part of an ongoing attempt by the party's adversaries to "stop the BJP, at any cost, from marching to power at the Centre". Asked to elaborate, the leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was a conspiracy, on the part of political parties opposed to the BJP, to vilify and marginalise its senior leaders. "Just as with the hawala case, this is another non-issue and in the end, it will be Advani and the party that will benefit from all this fuss," the leader added.

Similar sentiments have been echoed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad secretary general Giriraj Kishore. Terming the charges as politically motivated, Kishore said "The demolition of the disputed structure is not a crime." Pointing out that the Babri Tribunal had already agreed that the demolition was not the result of a conspiracy, Kishore said the incident was the result of religious fervour, and attempts to make a conspiracy out of it was the work of vested interests.

Bajrang Dal chief Vinay Katiyar, for his part, said while he respected the court's decision, he would "fight the case in court, as well as among the people. The Ram Janambhoomi case is not Vinay Katiyar’s individual case," he added. "This case concerns 700 million Hindus, they are all involved in it."

Denying that the demolition was part of a previously hatched plan, Katiyar said, "It was brought down by the people, and there was no prior planning as is being claimed."

Asked whether the development would impact adversely on the Sangh Parivar's plans for Mathura and Kashi, Katiyar said, "No, there is no way that will happen. In fact, people will agitate very soon if these two issues are not solved immediately."

Asked to comment on Swadeshi Jagran Manch chief S Gurumurthy’s move to resolve the dispute by negotiations between the two communities, Katiyar said, "We are ready for talks with anyone. However, there are vested interests who are not interested in solving these issues." Asked to name the "vested interests", however, Katiyar was less than forthcoming.

Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, the BJP senior vice-president, for her part was unaware of the CBI court's decision to frame charges against her until contacted by Rediff On The NeT. "The incident occurred five years back and the court has woken up just now," she said. "Anyway, it is a court order, so I will appear before it on October 17."