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If Kalyan
Singh, as a representative of the Dalits and backwards,
is able to influence those sections as to the justness
of the Muslim anger on the masjid issue he still will be
playing a valid role at a time when elections are in the
offing.
The BJP is
raking up the Ayodhya issue with the elections in view.
Kalyan Singh’s about turn can lessen the nuisance value
of the BJP’s call for a Ram temple to be built in the
place.
In fact,
the Congress should have recognized long ago that it was
the Masjid issue that had cost it dearly in terms of
popular vote, leading to its present plight. Arjun Singh
raised some dust when he called for an open apology on
the Babri issue. But others in the party succeeded in
stilling his voice then. If Congress had not shown an
inclination to apologise to the Muslims it would be
party because there are elements within that party who
have Hindutva in their blood. For the same reason, its
professions of secularism do not carry conviction with a
large section of the masses.
In normal
times this repentance by a Hindutva leader should have
caused much waves in politics; but it did not because
the genuineness of the change of heart was in doubt. In
his disillusionment with the BJP, he wanted to find new
allies in UP in the context of the forthcoming
elections. Samajvadi Party leader Mulayam Singh, a
messiah of the Muslims, would have found it inconvenient
to associate with a person who had an entirely different
background.
Yet the
event is not without significance. Kalyan Singh, a Dalit
leader with Hindutva leanings had been a great source of
strength for the BJP and his parting of ways would mean
erosion of it ranks in UP. Kalyan Singh also helps
Mulayam to consolidate Dalit votes in the context of the
growing clout of Mayavati, the emerging leader with
prime ministerial ambitions in state politics.
The
building of Ram temple or the destruction of the Masjid
are not the real issues for the people of this
democracy. The question to be decided is whether a brute
majority could ride roughshod over a minority in the
name of undoing past wrongs of history. The demolition
brought a bad name to the nation and created insecurity
and hatred defiling the social fabric of the nation.
In a
pluralistic society, all sections are watching with
interest the outcome of the forthcoming elections
whenever that happens to take place. A national party
like the Congress, which is growing weaker and yielding
place to regional forces, need alliances to come to
power. The BJP, which is also finding the going tough,
is dependant on allies for victory. There is a growing
feeling, that Mayavati, the self-styled saviour of
Dalits and backward communities, could play the role of
king maker after the elections in case she is unable to
capture enough seats to be prime minister.
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