Jan Masiel, member of European Parliament from Poland and a guest at the Taj, after leaving the hotel. (Reuters)

New Delhi, Nov. 27: The BJP today eschewed its usual post-terror assault on the Centre, arguing the tragedy called for a sinking of differences so that the nation could stand up to the challenge as one.

The party described the Mumbai attacks as the “9/11 of India” and hoped for a robust national response to terrorism. The Prime Minister reciprocated by inviting leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani to accompany him when he visits Mumbai.

“We should travel together to examine the situation, express solidarity with the security forces and try to provide succour to the victims,” Manmohan Singh said.

Advani readily agreed and appealed for “peace, communal harmony and patriotic unity”.

However, Advani left for Mumbai tonight without the Prime Minister after Singh said he would go only after the operation ended. BJP sources clarified the agreement hadn’t come apart — the two leaders were going separately because of logistical reasons.

The BJP had, at a meeting this morning, decided not to attack the government at this stage. “It is a war-like situation and the nation must remain united,” a party general secretary said.

The show of unity is likely to be short-lived, though, since the BJP is convinced the Centre had failed to combat terror not because of an absence of strategic vision but because of a lack of political will.

For now, the BJP doesn’t need to bark at the government for instant electoral gain. The shift of focus from “Hindu terror” to “jihadi terror” automatically brings relief to the Sangh Parivar.

For the past few weeks, the terrorism discourse has centred on the alleged role of saffron outfits in Malegaon, putting the parivar in a fix.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Praveen Togadia, however, appeared to provide a glimpse of what might unfold in the coming days. He told a news conference: “It was a criminal act on the part of the (Centre) to hatch a conspiracy to divert the nation’s attention from jihadi terror. They shifted focus to the imaginary saffron terror.”

Many in the BJP too feel that the focus on Malegaon and the repeated lie tests on sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur show that the Centre’s priorities were wrong and politically motivated.

The coming days, parivar sources said, will see a massive campaign against the government’s alleged attempt to equate “Hindu terror” with “jihadi terror”.

The BJP, too, is waiting for the right moment to strike. It believes the Centre slept despite “a hundred wake-up calls” to the point where terrorists were fighting on the streets instead of carrying out the usual hit-and-runs.