BJP MP Varun Gandhi’s growing popularity in UP has finally forced Mr Vinay Katiyar, the original Hindu firebrand leader in the BJP, to come out of hibernation. Mr Katiyar, after a long hiatus, will be addressing a rally in Ambedkar Nagar on June 25. Mr Katiyar had unsuccessfully tried to contest the last Lok Sabha elections from Ambedkar Nagar and had lost the seat to the BSP.
Through his Janata Jago rally on June 25, Mr Katiyar, on one hand, is making an attempt to revive his image as a pro-Hindu leader in the party and, on the other, will also display his strength before other party leaders. After the exit of Mr Kalyan Singh from the BJP, Vinay Katiyar was the sole leader in the party having strong Hindutva views and leanings. Mr Katiyar, who belongs to the Kurmi community, was also known to be the backward face of the BJP.
However, the emergence of Mr Varun Gandhi on the political horizon last year pushed Mr Katiyar into the wings and the young Gandhi walked away with accolades from the Hindu brigade. “This rally can be termed a revival attempt by Mr Vinay Katiyar, who is trying to refurbish his image as a firebrand Hindu leader. He apparently wants to ward off competition from Varun Gandhi and is getting ready to get back into the spotlight,” said a senior BJP leader.
Mr Katiyar, according to sources close to him, will target the BSP and the Congress in the rally and blame the two parties for all that is wrong in the present scenario — from price rise, to threats to internal security to atrocities on dalits and rampant corruption.
Already, Mr Katiyar has started deriving mileage from the rally by putting up posters that target the Congress with statements like “Whose son-in-law is Afzal Guru?”
The series of posters that obviously link the Congress to terrorism, Naxalism, violence in Kashmir, Tamil militancy in Sri Lanka and even the Ulfa in Assam have evoked a strong protest from the Congress.
“The posters carry highly objectionable statements. Mr Vinay Katiyar should immediately remove the posters and tender an unconditional apology to the Congress. If he is blaming the Congress for terrorism then what about the BJP and the Kandhahar hijack?” said UPCC spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh.