BJP cracks whip against hatemongers
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, June 5: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday issued a terse statement, saying that the party respects all religions. The BJP also stated in the same breath that the party strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion.
That the BJP had to come out with such a statement is significant as the discovery of “Shivling” in Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi fanned a fresh wave of hate in television studious and social media platforms.
Giving speculations a field day for over an hour, the BJP issued the suspension order of party’s rookie spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Navin Jindal. They allegedly had made religiously provocative remarks while taking part in television debates. Both have been expelled from the primary membership of the party.
The spokespersons had purportedly made remarks on Prophet Mohammad during studio debate.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP doesn’t promote such people or philosophy,” the BJP national general secretary Arun Singh stated in the official party statement.
It’s noteworthy to mention that the BJP decides the names of spokespersons who take part in the television debates. Nupur Sharma was drafted in the national BJP list of spokesperson after the 2019 Lok Sabha victory of the party when the saffron outfit unveiled a list of over 45 spokespersons without the senior leaders who previously used to be the face of the party.
Nupur Sharma had a faceoff with a fact-checker Muhammed Zubair in the backdrop of a television debate following which the BJP spokesperson had complained to the Delhi Police of “having received death, rape threats”. Sharma was a regular in leading television channels, including Times Now.
The BJP’s denouncement of the rabble-rousers came a day after diplomats from the Central Asian countries held the third part of discussions with the party chief J P Nadda and top office bearers in the “Know BJP” initiative on Saturday at the party headquarters. Scores of ambassadors and diplomats have already held discussions with Nadda during the previous two occasions.
Also, India and the US had a war of words after Washington released its freedom of religion report, which portrayed India in poor light. The Ministry of External Affairs had denounced the US report, calling it motivated by the domestic vote bank politics in the US.
Equally significant is the fact that the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat while addressing the cadre who passed out the three years training programme in Nagpur distanced from the Gyanvapi Mosque row.
Bhagwat made it clear that the RSS had taken part in the Ramjanmabhoomi movement for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya as an exception under “specific situation and circumstances”.
The RSS chief also underlined that the organization will not take part in any temple campaign, leaving the judiciary to arbitrate on contentious issues which are in litigations.
“There’s no need to search for Shivling in each mosque,” said Bhagwat in his speech in Nagpur, drawing a sharp line at a time when the Gyanvapi Mosque row threatened to stir another Ayodhya like campaign.
The BJP’s crackdown against Nupur Sharma for which the party leaders tweeted #IStandwithNupurSharma after she complained of having received death and rape threat will indeed be seen in extension of Bhagwat’s unequivocal drawing of the lines.
Within the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, there has been an apprehension that an unabated communally surcharged atmosphere in the country may scare away the investors while the government is positioning India at the international fora as an alternative of China in the global supply chain.
About The Author
