BJP, RSS send puzzling signals
It is a pity that even as the BJP (and the RSS, its command centre) seeks to slip into election mode with the 2014 polls nearing, virtually the first thing it has done under the leadership of recently-appointed chief Rajnath Singh is to kick the Ayodhya issue like a football to the front of the playing area.
Last week the so-called “sadhu-sants”, the ochre-robed “holy men” of different sects mobilised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, were convened along with top RSS and BJP leaders to underline their endorsement of the Ram Mandir issue at a time when there is nothing in the air to warrant reviving this divisive aspect of the RSS-BJP’s traditional agenda (along with Article 370 of the Constitution and the Uniform Civil Code). This says something for the emphasis Mr Singh privileges in public affairs.
It is not clear how pleased the BJP’s NDA allies will be at such a move which goes alongside describing Narendra Modi, who many in the BJP want to see as its candidate for Prime Minister, as “a towering nationalist” (in the BJP-RSS lexicon, this is shorthand for Hindu nationalist). What it does tell us, however, is the BJP’s eagerness to mobilise its core vote through such rebranding. Some of this vote had been cornered by the Congress-led UPA in the last general election. It is evident, therefore, that foregrounding the Ram Mandir and
Mr Modi are part of a scheme. Needless to say, appropriate noises will also be made so as not to keep the NDA allies strung along, but a pointed signal is being sent to all Hindutvawadis.
To galvanise this section the BJP has also given a call to boycott Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde for his recent loose remark that the RSS and the BJP run terrorist training camps. In the absence of irrefutable proof, a home minister should not make such sweeping allegations. He has naturally been roundly condemned by Hindutvawadis and other BJP adherents. But with the rounding up of many from the Hindutva camp (they generally have RSS and BJP backgrounds) by the National Investigation Agency in relation to the Samjhauta Express blast and the Malegaon terrorist explosions, the question of some people immersed in Hindutva ideology being inspired to direct violence at the minority communities can hardly be overlooked. The recent discovery of the murder weapon in the killing of RSS volunteer Suneel Joshi (linked to Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts), who was suspected to be a weak link, from a BJP activist in Madhya Pradesh cannot be deemed positive publicity for the party.
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