Accusing elements in the ruling Congress, its Left allies and other political forces of conspiring to "slowly, but systematically erase" the Hindu character of the nation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said it would repel such forces.

"Who has created this bizarre and perverse intellectual atmosphere in this country, where anything associated with Hinduism, Hindu ethos and Hindu faith is considered communal, obscurantist?" asked BJP president L.K. Advani while addressing the opening day's session of the party's national executive here.

"The time has come to proclaim, and proclaim with all courage of our conviction, that India is secular principally because of its Hindu ethos. Remove this Hindu ethos and there will be no India left," Advani contended.

Advani's statement was seen as being aimed at regaining the party's ideological constituency and social support base, the loss of which according to him had resulted in the BJP's defeat in the April-May general election.

"Let every adversary of ours be warned, if anybody tries to take the cover of secularism to indulge in anti-Hindu politics and statecraft, the BJP will stand in their path like a rock, prepared to make any sacrifices," Advani maintained.

The 77-year-old leader, who is credited with scripting the party's success story in the 1980s and has assumed the mantle of BJP president for the third time, said his party, however, recognised and respected all faiths that were practiced in the country.

He condemned the attitude of groups who he said had made hurting of Hindu sentiments and denial of legitimate Hindu interests as the "sole criterion of one's commitment to secularism."

It was in this context the BJP had decided to associate itself with the public outrage against the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswasthi, though the party was of the view that the law should take its own course.

He alleged that the seer's arrest was a result of political vendetta and the general climate of pseudo-secularism prevailing in the country.

In the same breath, Advani also sought the Congress's cooperation to bring about a negotiated settlement to the Aydohya dispute, instead of waiting for a judicial verdict.

 "I urge the Congress and all other parties to see the compelling logic and the undeniable desirability of a negotiated settlement and contribute to the firming up of a national consensus on how to resolve the Ayodhya issue soon," he said.

The BJP supports the demand of Hindu groups for building a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya at the site of the Babri mosque, which was razed by Hindu fanatics Dec 6, 1992.

Besides reviewing the outcome of the assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra in October, the national executive would discuss issues pertaining to internal security, economic issues and devise a strategy for the upcoming elections in three states, including BJP-ruled Jharkhand.

--Indo-Asian News Service