Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was the first CM to visit the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi in 15 years. It was a day after a special CBI court in Lucknow framed charges of criminal conspiracy in the Babri mosque demolition case against top BJP leaders including L.K.Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. Adityanath met the senior leaders before they appeared in court. During his visit to Ayodhya, the CM was accompanied by Dharam Das who was also one of the accused. It shows the BJP’s partisan attitude. Adityanath offered prayers on the banks of the Surya river. He did not meet the Muslim leaders involved in the dispute. That goes against the Supreme Court decision that the dispute should be settled in an impartial manner. The CM would do well to be friendly towards the Muslim leaders. That would also persuade the contending parties to be reasonable and understanding about the conflict.
The CM’s visit to Ayodhya appears to be part of a grand design. Since the BJP came to power in UP after a decisive victory in March, four UP Cabinet Ministers visited the Makeshift Temple in Ayodhya. This is in complete disregard of the fact that it is a disputed site. The revival of the controversy seems to obscure more important economic issues. Employment for youth is a burning issue. Industrial and agricultural growth is also of the utmost importance and Mulayam Singh Yadav has aggravated the crisis saying shooting of Kar-Sevaks on the mosque was a mistake!
