BJP excludes Ram temple, civil code in Chennai Declaration

BJP excludes Ram temple, civil code in Chennai Declaration
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, JAN 13: The BJP released the amended form of its policy document for the new millennium, the Chennai Declaration, asserting that it was BJP's agenda and not NDA's. However, distinctive features of the BJP like Ayodhya Ram Temple, Common Civil Code, do not figure in the Declaration.

``These are not priority issues right now,'' claims BJP vice president Jana Krishnamurthy,``Of course, they were one of the priority issues of the party at one point.''Post-1983, all political parties had taken different stands on Ayodhya issue and so had the BJP, but the issue had lost relevance now, he added.

The document had raised lot of heat during BJP's national council meeting in Chennai from December 27 to 29, since hardliners termed it as an attempt to dilute the party's ideology. The document was repeatedly amended due to angry protests by senior BJP leaders at its contents and language. Working committee members were angry at usage of terms like, ``Each and every activist of the party must fully understandthat the BJP has no agenda other than the common agenda of the NDA.'' The sentence was mellowed down to say: ``The BJP expresses confidence that every party worker understands that our agenda for good governance is the National Agenda for good governance.''

Interestingly, while the Declaration released by the BJP today mentions only the amended version, salient features of the Declaration labelled Glow Lines by the party, still carries the original sentence.

The party in original draft of the Declaration had conceded that ideologies too were subjected to change. The sentence has now been amended to say, ``Although the ideals are constant, the policies and their interpretation in the light of the changing needs of new situations and challenges have to be renewed from time to time''. Krishnamurthy insists that the Declaration was essentially party document, not being a mere copy of the NDA agenda, as was made out to be at Chennai.

``NDA manifesto is only for Governance for five years while the allianceconstituents are independent parties having different cadre, support base and programmes,'' he said. NDA programme for governance is BJP's programme of governance as well, he sought to rationalise.

Asked about the need to drop the three contentious issues, Krishnamurthy said, ``Why bind the youth of the party to a set agenda. We want to let them have their own priorities.'' The document, however, asserts that the party had not abandoned its ideology. ``The quality of principle-centred flexibility, adaptability and self-renewal, while being true to to one's essential nature and purpose, is the hallmark of any living human organisation. The BJP and earlier, the Jana Sangh, has demonstrated this quality in ample measure,'' the Declaration claims.