Headlines
Cacophony of Hindutva voices undermines governance agenda (One Year of Modi government)
By
Prashant SoodNew Delhi, May 24
For a government that
assumed office on the promise of good governance and development, the
first year in office has been marked by several intemperate remarks on
Hindutva from a few BJP ministers, MPs and functionaries.
It was
expected that an overwhelming victory at the hustings would give a
fillip to undesirable fringes of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party. But
the widespread voicing of the 'Hindu first' agenda, and the resulting
muted disavowing by the leaders, may indicate that such thoughts are not
marginal for the ruling party.
The 'ghar wapsi' (return to the
Hindu fold) campaign and the occasional Hindutva rhetoric from the Sangh
Parivar's constituents have sought to divert attention away from the
declared governance agenda of the Narendra Modi government.
The
first full-majority BJP government at the centre under Modi's leadership
apparently evoked a sense of ownership among the constituents of the
Sangh Parivar, with Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal saying
that power in Delhi had come in the hands "of a proud Hindu" after 800
years.
Modi, who was portrayed as a poster boy of Hindutva and a
"polarising figure" by the opposition in the run up to the April-May
2014 Lok Sabha elections, ran his campaign on the agenda of development.
Since coming to power, his government has repeatedly emphasised that
its philosophy is "Sabka Saath, Sabka vikas (together with all, progress
for all)."
A string of controversies over the past year,
however, threatened to take focus away from the government's "good
governance" agenda. Right-wing fringe elements, Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) functionaries and a few BJP ministers and MPs made remarks
that created an uproar within and outside parliament.
The ghar
wapsi programme in Agra last December, by an outfit linked to the RSS,
the ideological fountainhead of the BJP, stoked a major controversy. TV
channels brought the event into homes across the country which led to
disruptions in parliament, with the government stating that it does not
support either conversions or re-conversions. It also suggested a bill
against conversions.
Attacks on churches in Delhi also drew wide
media attention, with the government clarifying that these had "no
communal overtones" and were "law and order problems".
Union
Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's 'Ramzaadon-versus-haramzaadon" remark,
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sakshi Maharaj terming Mahatma Gandhi's
assassin Nathuram Godse as a "patriot" and Union Minister Giriraj
Singh's remarks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi's colour of skin
kicked up controversies, forcing these parliamentarians to issue
regrets.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's purported remarks on Mother
Teresa, his views on ghar wapsi and remarks of Sangh functionaries about
the cultural identity of Indians being Hindutva also led to
controversies.
BJP MP Yogi Adityanath's remarks about "love
jihad" and his demand that non-Hindus should be banned from entering Har
Ki Pauri in Haridwar also led to criticism from Opposition parties.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and senior ministers, at internal meetings,
expressed unhappiness over the controversial remarks by party MPs.
Sakshi Maharaj was issued a show cause notice for his suggestion that
Hindu women should have four children.
Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha
MP of the Shiv Sena, which is part of ruling National Democratic
Alliance, stoked a major controversy with his remarks that voting rights
of Muslims should be revoked for some years to prevent the community
being used for "vote bank politics." The government slammed his remarks.
Modi,
who had faced criticism over his "silence" on the activities of
right-wing elements and incidents of attacks on churches, told a
gathering of Christian leaders in February that his government will
ensure complete freedom of faith and will not allow any religious group
to incite hatred against others "overtly or covertly".
In his
interview to Time magazine published earlier this month, Modi said that
the constitution was the only holy book for his government and it was
his duty to ensure total protection of all religions.
Congress leader and former union minister Ashwani Kumar said that Modi will be judged by his actions and not his words.
"The BJP brand of politics is defined by a politics of polarisation," Ashwani Kumar told IANS.
He
said that "pluralism and liberalism" were enshrined in the constitution
and "democratic politics must subserve constitutional goals."
He
said "the whole year has been a saga of communal politics. The prime
minister has done nothing to dispel the apprehension," adding that the
people of India will "judge him by his actions, not words."
Sonia
Gandhi had slammed the Modi government earlier this month and said that
"incendiary remarks" were often uttered even by ministers against
entire communities and institutions.
BJP spokesperson G.V.L.
Narasimha Rao said party members who had made "out of turn" remarks had
been asked to retract them. He said the BJP had nothing to do with the
ghar wapsi programmes and if there was any violation of law, it was for
the concerned state government to take action.
"The media
highlighted some non-issues and the opposition parties latched on to
them. These had zero affect as far as governance is concerned and are
non-issues for the public," he said.
(Prashant Sood can be contacted at [email protected])