The "Hindu anger that exploded on the streets in the early nineties has now given way to a patient wait for the new temple whose construction is, I feel, inevitable", newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party president Lal Kishenchand Advani said on Wednesday.
In his presidential address at the BJP's national council, held to ratify his election, Advani, the architect of the party's rise through the Ayodhya temple movement, said the "environment" that made the Ram temple issue such a potent mass movement had changed.
He said a great deal had changed since the day he began the Somnath-Ayodhya Rath Yatra 14 years ago. On the face of it, the temple in Ayodhya remained caught in a complex legal tangle and political parties paid lip service to the need for a judicial verdict because it saved them the embarrassment of exercising a choice.
"The Ayodhya movement ensured that Hindus can no longer be either taken for granted or their sentiments blatantly disregarded. Our commitment to Ram temple in Ayodhya is intact and unwavering. The nation eagerly looks forward to the day the makeshift temple at Ram Janmabhoomi is replaced by a structure befitting the greatness of Lord Ram."
Advani further said the BJP was first and foremost "a party of nationalism and cultural nationalism", and dismissed fears that it had abandoned its ideology.
He admitted the "slow progress" on the temple issue also affected the party's performance in the recent elections.
"As party president my priority is to mould the BJP into a battle-worthy organisation capable of taking on challenges of the Congress and the Left, both on the ideological and political fronts. Collectively we will set the stage for a resounding NDA majority in the 15th Lok Sabha," he said.
Advani explained that the coming days would be challenging for the party as the United Progressive Alliance government, backed by the Communists, had launched a concerted attack on its ideology.
"In the guise of detoxification, it has endorsed a witch hunt against those who were appointed to public posts by the NDA government. The process has begun at the Centre and is certain to percolate to the states."
He admitted that the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls was a "major setback".
Over the past months, he said, the party had reviewed the results and the process had acquired an additional urgency in view of the BJP-Shiv Sena's failure to secure a majority in the Maharashtra assembly.
Good governance in a country as large and diverse as India did not generate a uniform effect, Advani said.
In focussing on the big picture, the party was guilty of overlooking some details.
"We were not sufficiently attentive to the human costs of rapid change. In making India globally competitive, we fell short of providing an adequate cushion to communities that were overwhelmed by both technology and the market," he said.
In seeking to ride the crest of change "we offended those who felt left out by it. They were unmoved by our assertion that India is shining. We have paid a heavy price for our failings. We are mindful of our deficiencies. We will take the necessary corrective measures", he added.
