Gujarat stanched Akshardham backlash: Advani

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani said India will soon become a global hub for manufacturing, service and the information and knowledge sectors.

After filing his nomination from the Gandhinagar parliamentary constituency on Monday, Advani said: "While the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest the elections on the issues of good governance and economic policies, I will answer questions on the Ram Temple issue. A Ram temple will be constructed at Ayodhya with the consent of all parties concerned. That is bound to happen".

Defending the Gujarat government for its handling of the communal riots after the Godhra incident, Advani said the Akshardham incident (where two terrorists stormed the temple in Gandhinagar and killed over 30 persons before they were killed in a commando operation) was worse than the Godhra massacre.

"The backlash after the Akshardham incident could have been terrible. The state government ensured it did not happen," Advani said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that, while there have been several communal riots all over the country in the recent past, the highest number of persons killed in police firing were in Gujarat. "The fact that over 200 persons were killed in police firing is an indication that the state dealt firmly with the situation," he said.

Advani felt that it was time for a reconciliation between the Hindus and the Muslims. "Relations between the two communities have been tense for a long time and it is time for a reconciliation. However, the reconciliation between the two should not be at the cost of injustice to any community or appeasement of any community," the deputy PM said.

Claiming that more and more members of the minority community were joining the BJP, Advani said, even in a communally sensitive town like Hubli in Karnataka, there were at least 150 members of the minority community keen on joining the party on a daily basis.

"The Muslim community does not want to be treated as a vote bank. Our political opponents have created an anti-Muslim image of the BJP," he said.

On Vitthalbhai Pandya, father of former state revenue minister Haren Pandya, contesting against him as an independent candidate, Advani said he would not like to comment on the issue as Pandya had still not filed his nomination papers. "I hope he does not file his nomination from Gandhinagar," Advani said.

Meanwhile, Advani will embark on the second leg of his Bharat Uday Yatra from Porbander on Tuesday.