Advani’s Rath Yatra changed the wheels of time in Ayodhya

In 1989, the BJP held its National Executive meeting in Palampur from June 9 to 11 under the leadership of the then party president Lal Krishna Advani, where all the big leaders of the party including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Vijayaraje Scindia and Shanta Kumar were present. At that juncture, the formidable duo of LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee held significant sway in Indian politics. During this session, the pivotal decision to endorse the construction of the Ram Temple was made, marking a crucial addition to the BJP’s manifesto. This historic moment is widely referred to as the ‘Palampur proposal.’

Meanwhile, after Rajiv Gandhi laid the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in 1989, the politics of India took a different colour. Janata Dal government was formed at the Centre and Uttar Pradesh while VP Singh became the Prime Minister with the support of the BJP. Mulayam Singh Yadav was ruling in UP and now there was a possibility of finding a way out of the dispute. However, exactly the opposite happened. The divide between Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on the issue of Ayodhya surpassed even the rift between the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Babri Masjid Action Committee. Their association was marked by mutual distrust, deception, and intricate conspiracies.

According to Hemant Sharma’s book ‘Ram Phir Laute,’ Mulayam Singh Yadav believed that VP Singh was trying to topple his government on the pretext of the temple and was hatching a new conspiracy against him every day. He feared that Prime Minister VP Singh called the sages and saints to talk and instigate them against Mulayam Singh. There was tremendous pressure from the BJP on VP Singh regarding Ayodhya. When the VP Singh government started the process of talks with the fundamentalists fighting over Ayodhya, Mulayam Singh Yadav adopted a policy of confrontation with them. Once, when Singh was holding discussions with some saints to resolve the Ayodhya matter, Mulayam Singh arrested those very saints.

SAINTS ANNOUNCED KAR SEVAK

The term “Kar sevak” was first used on June 23, 1990, during a saints’ congregation in Haridwar. Subsequently, the term gained prominence during the demolition of the structure in Ayodhya. In the same congregation, two more significant resolutions were passed: no changes were possible in the date and design of the temple construction, and there would be no further discussions on the sanctum sanctorum.

ADVANI STARTED RATH YATRA

BJP National President Lal Krishna Advani announced the Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya on September 25, 1990. This Rath Yatra was to end on October 3 and with it, the phase of Kar Seva was to begin. Advani’s Rath Yatra was to reach Ayodhya after covering about 10,000 kilometres in eight states. However, the Rath Yatra was stopped by the then Lalu Yadav government in Samastipur, Bihar on October 23, 1990, and Advani was also taken into custody. Apart from him, VHP leader Ashok Singhal was also detained, but he escaped from police custody. Despite Lal Krishna Advani being stopped in Bihar, lakhs of Kar Sevaks had marched to Ayodhya. At that time, there was Mulayam Singh Yadav’s government in UP, which issued orders for the arrest of Kar Sevaks.

ADVANI’S ARREST BROUGHT DOWN VP SINGH’S GOVERNMENT

Advani’s arrest shook the political landscape at the Centre. Politics heated up, and the phase of allegations began. Interestingly, at that time, VP Singh was the Prime Minister and was heading the coalition of all the parties, that had united in the name of opposing the Congress. Advani’s arrest shook his chair as the BJP withdrew support from VP Singh’s government, forcing Singh to resign. Lalu Yadav, who was also a partner in this coalition government at the Centre, was also accused of being a partner in overthrowing the Central Government. Thus, Advani’s Rath Yatra is considered to be an important milestone in the Ram Mandir issue.