Ayodhya yatra a gameplan of BJP, SP ahead of LS polls: Congress

Lucknow: Congress on Thursday said that the proposed Chaurasi Kosi yatra by VHP was aimed at creating communal tension in Uttar Pradesh and backed the Samajwadi Party government`s decision to ban the same. "The yatra proposed by VHP is not part of any religious tradition. "Its aim is to (push for the) construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya where Supreme Court has directed that the status quo should be maintained," UP state Congress chief and Faizabad MP Nirmal Khatri said in a statement. "We are all aware of the outcome in 1992 when people were emotionally exploited and made to gather at one place... All precautions need to be taken to prevent recurrence of any such incident," Khatri added. The said Chaurasi Kosi parikrama by seers and holy men had already been held during March-April and the one proposed by VHP was not really in keeping with the tradition, Khatri said. "Although SC has called for the status quo to be maintained, VHP, by proposing the yatra, has shown that it has scant faith in the Constitution and the judiciary of the country," he said. He questioned why VHP had not held such yatras when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was heading the BJP government at the Centre, and said that the move was aimed at blowing life back into the party before Lok Sabha polls. He, however, alleged that the yatra was part of a joint BJP-SP game plan to aggravate tension between communities and polarise voters for the benefit of the two parties. PTI