New Delhi: Pushed onto the backfoot by the scandalous pilferage of donation money at the Ram Mandir, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dusted off its favorite textbook for poll-bound Uttar Pradesh: escalating communal rhetoric and projecting its rivals as pro-Muslim.

The misappropriation of donation funds at the Ayodhya temple points to gross financial corruption and administrative failure. Above all, it raises critical questions about the political accountability of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates, who practically managed the temple and the movement for its construction at the site where the Mughal-era Babri Masjid stood till December 6, 1992.

However, rather than providing clear-cut answers to the public lingering over the theft of donations at the temple, the ruling party has unleashed a fierce counter-offensive against its political opponents. Crucially, this campaign avoids questions of  transparency and accountability. Instead, it downplays the seriousness of the corruption while discrediting critics as “Ramdrohi” (anti-Ram) and ‘pro-Muslim’.

This aggressive stance coincides with BJP national president Nitin Nabin’s maiden organisational visit to Lucknow on July 5 after assuming leadership of the party. Although the UP assembly elections are scheduled for early next year, the incumbent has already kickstarted its campaign in the high-stakes state, where it has comfortably won the last two terms.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin lays out a clear roadmap to counter Ayodhya controversy

Nabin laid out a clear roadmap for his party to counter the unfolding controversy in Ayodhya. He hailed the BJP, RSS, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) as the true leaders of the Ram Mandir movement and protectors of the Hindu faith, while labeling Opposition leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav, and Rahul Gandhi as “anti-Hindu forces” who routinely insult the community. He accused them of trying to exploit the Ayodhya issue for political gain – “rajnitaik roti sekna.”

“Don’t consider Hindu Dharma so weak that they will fall into your traps or be easily misled,” Nabin said at the Shakti Kendra Sanyojak Sammelan in Lucknow.

Taking his cue from Nabin, chief minister Adityanath has similarly upped the ante, leaving no stone unturned to polarise the electorate. From namaaz and cow slaughter to Babur, Waqf land, Kanwad Yatra, and graveyards, Adityanath has deployed maximum deflection tactics to force the public focus back onto........

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