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Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Acharya Giriraj Kishore on Friday conceded that the Bharatiya Janata Party joined the Ayodhya movement for political gain and its senior leader Lal Kishenchand Advani got dividends from the Rath Yatra.
"The BJP involved itself with the Ram janambhoomi movement with the objective of gaining political mileage and Advani's Rath Yatra in 1990 fetched him dividends," he told the Liberhan Commission, which is probing the sequence of events leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in December 1992.
However, he said the VHP had no objection to BJP making use of the Ayodhya movement for political purposes, as Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi had tried to do the same.
"Rajiv Gandhi had started his political campaign in 1990 from Saket, Ayodhya," Acharya Giriraj said.
He said other political parties also wanted to be associated with the movement, but they were pushed behind by the BJP.
The VHP leader said the organisation had never invited any political party, including the BJP, to support the movement.
"The VHP had neither prayed nor proposed to any party, including the BJP, to support the movement," he said. "The Ram janambhoomi movement attained the status of a national issue all by itself."
Acharya Giriraj also said that the VHP was not associated with the Rath Yatras initiated by Advani in 1990 and in 1992.
"During the Rath Yatras, the VHP had neither made any arrangements nor had contributed anything," he said.
Acharya Giriraj said the VHP had always maintained that the Ayodhya movement belonged to the people and no political party would be allowed to hijack it.
He said the temple would be constructed in Ayodhya with the support of the people.
PTI
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