Last-ditch move on Ayodhya

Racing against the announcement of the elections, the Modi government has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to return the ‘non-disputed’ surplus land acquired around the disputed structure in Ayodhya to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas and other original owners. The move, apparently the BJP’s last roll of the dice ahead of the General Election, comes less than a month after PM Modi had said during an interview that his government would intervene in the matter only after the completion of the judicial process.

The Centre has pushed its plea at a time when the apex court is scheduled to hear 14 appeals against the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 ruling that 2.77-acre land at the root of the dispute be divided equally between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The BJP-led NDA owes an explanation for this new-found urgency at the fag-end of its term, even as the Opposition is citing relentless pressure from the Sangh Parivar.

The BJP’s unexpected defeat in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls was partly attributed to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government’s failure to do enough to pacify its core supporters on the Ram temple imbroglio. In its 2003 order, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to maintain status quo with regard to the land acquired under the Acquisition of Certain Areas of Ayodhya Act, 1993. The saffron party, which has made itself unpopular in the past couple of years, courtesy demonetisation, GST and the agrarian distress, can’t afford a repeat of the scenario that eventually kept it out of power for a decade. With the ordinance route, as demanded by Hindutva organisations, being a remote possibility in view of the fact that the case is sub judice, the government has come up with the next best option. Even as the ball is again in the judiciary’s court, the verdict can impact the BJP’s electoral fortunes particularly in the high-stakes state of Uttar Pradesh, where it is up against the formidable SP-BSP alliance and the Priyanka-bolstered Congress.