By Srinivasan K. Rangachary
The Muthalik episode on Sunday has exposed yet again the BJP’s inherent double speak and proclivity to extreme possibilities when it’s not under surveillance. Nothing else explains the admission of a man with 45 cases against him — perhaps the most notorious cultural policing officer of the country — into the party by none other than the former Karnataka chief minister and party’s state president at a special function. That he was thrown out within a few hours of admission, reportedly at the instance of the central leadership, was a face-saver for the party; but the bigger question that remained unanswered is how he qualified to join a national political party that is getting ready to form the next Union government. If both the state president of the party and the former chief minister wanted him in the BJP, they should have found some merit in their prize catch. What was it that made Jagdish Shettar and Prahlad Joshi think of Muthalik as poll-worthy?
The induction of Muthalik in the Bharatiya Janata Party was akin to catching the bull by its tail with a view to strengthening the prospects of their candidates in the Hubli-Dharwar-Belgaum belt by conveying that the local BJP there stands for strong Hindutva. The central unit of the BJP reversed the decision as the open association of Pramod Muthalik, the hater of progressive social values and the committed believer of Hindu Rashtra would damage the BJP which has made development, good governance and India First as the central campaign issues.
Is Pramod Muthalik some kind of a curdle which turns the BJP’s Gujarat dairy milk sour? Does the quashing mean that the Hindutva attire is washed in “Ujala” bleach automatically spinning the saffron to supreme white? Does it really matter whether the likes of Muthalik’s, Sri Ram Sene, yoga gurus of Bharatiya Swabhiman, sadaks and sevaks of Hindu Jagrun Samiti and crusaders of Sanathan Saunstha are official members of BJP? The fact is that there is nothing official about the unofficial brotherhood. Election strategy demands that these organisations continue their rabid campaign unsanctioned and unendorsed by the BJP.
It is therefore pragmatic that chief minister Manohar Parrikar realised that Pramod Muthalik is not the right person to be in the BJP and communicated displeasure in strong terms. Sushma Swaraj with her clout at the national level could not reverse the decisions of her party in respect of induction of highly tainted politicians. Her tears and remorse on the denial of tickets to Hiren Phatak, the seven times MP from Ahmedabad East and to the towering Jaswant Singh did not move the party an inch. The treatment meted out to the eulogised Loha Purush Lal Krishna Advani has not drawn sizeable attention from internal party circles. It is clear that only Narendra Modi die-hards will be sponsored and sane voices of constructive dissent would be chopped.
Needless to say, Modi is in full command and all steps are taken to insure that the PM in waiting stays as the unquestioned commander-in-chief. What the Modi-led BJP demands is silent acquiescence and zero tolerance to even constructive dissent based on values.
Indian National Congress does not enjoy the privilege of such a luxury. Though perceived as an organisational weakness of the Congress, it could be the strength in terms of democratic functioning.
Jaswant Singh’s outburst of duplicate and fake BJP sounds less credible as it comes at a time when the ticket has been denied. Coming home, Francisco Sardinha, the sitting Congress MP from South Goa alleged that Congress is taken over by thieves and looters after he was deprived of the ticket. Such seasoned seniors should avoid such indulgence. It is equally necessary that the party should take such decisions by taking the affected seniors into confidence. The party bigwigs should in no way be made to perceive that they are kept out due to personal agenda of others.
With the BJP embracing the likes of Sri Ram Sene, the lust not to let go the possibility of reaching the finishing line can be read. The hidden agenda to gradually toe the regressive cultural lifestyle once in the comfort of power is also discernible. The damage control by distancing from some outfits was done after weighing the costs and benefits. It is the social media impact which generated the incidence on the BJP to disaffiliate Sri Ram Sene. However, this does not mean that such fundamentalist and fanatical organisations have stopped their affiliations with the Modi-led BJP. It would be their agenda to infiltrate BJP with outdated values and extremist paths. This is the danger which the BJP faces as a political party in its march towards India First. Hence, it is in the interests of the BJP to have components of moderates in their national and state leadership.
It would be unjust if only the BJP is singled out for presence of elements detrimental to freedom of choice and expression. Organised groups propagating intolerance on basis of religion, caste, gender and region are found in all political parties. There is no dearth of such elements in AIADMK where “amma” is the queen who can do no wrong. The outfits such as Shiv Sena, MNS, RJD, BSP, INLD too abound. Probably, if such elements exist in the Congress party, they stand completely marginalised.
People perceive dangers because the BJP is in the range of getting into the shoes of power. The danger for inclusive democracy is multiplied because the votes are demanded more for Narendra Modi than for BJP. The majority of the Hindus do not take the likes of Sri Ram Sene and Hindu Jagrun Samiti seriously is another matter. The danger is in the future democratic king giving patronage to such unofficial Hindu policemen and protectors of Hindu culture. INAV