Today’s decision of the Varanasi District Court on the Gyanvapi Masjid can once again heat up the politics of the country and bring big political advantage to the BJP. The same is a new challenge for the opposition, particularly the Congress, which has suffered greatly in the Ayodhya case. The Congress was not able to take the right stand on time. The BJP had taken full advantage of that. The same situation is going to happen in Gyanvapi case too.
The beginning was seen today. As soon as the district court upheld the appeal of the hearing of the Hindu side, pro-BJP outfits started celebrating in many parts of the country, including Varanasi. On the other hand, the Muslim side and the leaders have decided to take the issue to the High Court.
The court has fixed 22 September for the next hearing. The continuation of the hearing simply means that the matter of Gyanvapi Masjid will pick up further. Today’s verdict is also enough to heat up the atmosphere. The Hindu community says that whatever material has been found in the excavation in the entire area of the mosque, it is clear that there was a temple there. Muslim organisations naturally have expressed their disappointment.
A problem like Gyanvapi will not be resolved easily and it has many ramifications. The mosque built near the birthplace of Shri Krishna in Mathura seems to be next in the line. Demands have been raised that the mosque should be removed from the birthplace of Krishna and it looks the issue will gain momentum sooner or later. The BJP and its allies are also serious about Mathura. After the decision about Ram temple in Ayodhya, there has been talk of Kashi and Mathura.
Such cases do not benefit the opposition, but the BJP takes full advantage of them. BJP has been in power on its own for the last 8 years at the center, and it has governments in many Hindi-dominated states like Uttar Pradesh. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP has become the most powerful party in the country. The 135-year-old Congress party has its own fight for survival, not in a position to challenge the BJP.
Even after this, the BJP has not made any change in its polarisation strategy. The agenda of Hindutva is still the priority of the BJP. Congress and the Opposition are helpless against the BJP’s strategy. The BJP does play polarisation card which Opposition most of the time find difficult to counter.
Karnataka may go the same way. In the upcoming state elections, the BJP will give more weight to the issue of Hindutva. In such a situation, the Gyanvapi issue will serve as an icing on the cake. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi, is trying to revive Congress by taking out Bharat Jodo Yatra. But the Congress is getting caught somewhere, thanks to BJP’s strategy. The issue of Gyanvapi Masjid can be overshadowed by issues like inflation and unemployment. Allies of the BJP will incite the Congress and the opposition to give a boost to Gyanvapi. The problem for the Congress is that it still prefers to call itself the largest secular party which suits the BJP.