BJP’s veteran leader LK Advani had taken out 'rath yatra' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in 1990 to rally support for ‘Ram Mandir’ movement.
A row has erupted after the Ram temple trust said the BJP veterans including Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were requested not to come owing to their age and the biting cold for the grand inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya in January 2024.
The announcement sparked a row, with many accusing the BJP leadership of sidelining and insulting the veteran leaders who led the party at one point of time.
Shortly, after this announcement the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said both the veterans have been invited for the grand ceremony.
There has been significant contribution for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement from the both the leaders especially Advani.
Advani is 96-year-old at present, while Joshi is 89.
It was infact Advani who took out the controversial 'rath yatra' from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in 1990 to rally support.
Advani’s move had sparked communal violence at several cities in north India.
Later, when the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, both the BJP veterans were present on the spot.
VHP has said both Advani and Joshi, leaders of the Ram Mandir movement, had been invited for the January 22 event.
The VHP is a part of the Sangh Parivar, the BJP's ideological parent.
Advani took out ‘rath yatra’ on September 25, 1990. He travelled in a modified chariot, or "rath," throughout the journey, addressing massive crowds along the way and advocating for the construction of the Ram temple.
It, however, faced hurdles as it moved. The yatra lead to communal flare-ups at various places across the country, especially in north India.
The yatra was eventually halted in Bihar by the then chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who arrested Advani to prevent further communal tensions.
On December 6, 1992, by a mob of karsevaks demolished the Babri Masjid. Over the years, Advani's name remains closely associated with the Ram Rath Yatra and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Years later, Advani said: “For the BJP, participation in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was not prompted by religiosity. We were angered by the duplicity and double-standards of then Congress government and used the occasion to initiate a much-needed debate on secularism in India."
“I believe our relentless assault on what we called pseudo-secularism proved a much-needed corrective. It set the ground rules for an even-handed approach to issues affecting religious communities,” he had said.
He said the Ayodhya movement proved a very effective antidote to attempts to fragment Hindu society along antagonistic caste lines.
“I believe the phenomenal growth of the BJP between 1989 and 1996 owed a great deal to our support for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. For us, Ayodhya will always remain a potent symbol of a national awakening,” the former minister of home affairs had said.
“The urge for a Ram Janmabhoomi temple united Hindus. The fruition of that dream will bring all Indians together. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be a vibrant symbol of a strong, prosperous and harmonious India,” Advani had said.