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BJP for ‘inclusive’ Hindutva

	June 29, 2009

The BJP national executive meeting in New Delhi on June 20-21 has stressed the need for following an ‘inclusive’ agenda while reaffirming the party’s faith in Hindutva as propounded by RSS ideologues. On the concluding day of the meeting, leader of the Opposition Lal Krishan Advani cautioned the party against ‘‘narrow bigoted anti-Muslim” interpretation of Hindutva and favoured change. He reaffirmed his ties with the RSS and said that the Sangh had rejected theocracy that is the Hindu nation concept.



Poll debacle not a rout, only a setback



Putting a gloss over the BJP’s worst ever poll performance in a quarter century, the party said that it was not a rout, but only a setback. Former party president M. Venkaiah Naidu said though party president Rajnath Singh had taken the blame, it is always collective responsibility.



The BJP said the party alone has been given opposition space as it has won 116 seats in the Lok Sabha. The party said that the reduced tally was a setback, but it was the CPI (M) which suffered a rout, down to 16 seats.



The national executive adopted a two-page political resolution proposed by Ravi Shankar Prasad, after a free and frank discussion on what Hindutva means and should mean. There was a stout rejection of the Pilibhit version of Hindutva, a reference to Varun Gandhi’s hate speeches and his mother Maneka Gandhi’s defence. One of the few Muslim leaders the party has, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, attacked those who defended Varun Gandhi and those who felt that the BJP did not want Muslim or Christian votes. Naqvi and some others said that a political party should reach out to all, and the BJP should remember that Varun Gandhi’s hate speeches led to an active consolidation of Muslim vote against the party.



Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan interpreted Hindutva as development and prosperity for all.



The political resolution said: “Hindutva is not to be understood or construed narrowly confined to religious practices or expressed in extreme forms. It is related to the culture and ethos of the people, a way of life, and therefore, inclusive.” The party rejected theocracy or any form of bigotry as alien to the country’s ethos.



Advani to set out on a nationwide tour



Advani announced that he would soon set out on a nationwide tour to extricate the party from its state of despair following the electoral debacle. He said that the party would have to urgently evolve a system of encouraging younger leaders at all levels. He appealed to the party leaders to refrain from criticizing each other in public.



Advani said the time is for introspection and not finger-pointing.



Advani not to become party president



On Tuesday, June 23, Advani denied reports in a section of the press that he is set to become the party president to revive the BJP fortunes. In a talk with newspersons at Virajpet in Kodagu district, he said that the BJP had accepted the Lok Sabha poll defeat with all humility. He said the mandate given by the people to the UPA was for stability.



Referring to bi-polarity at the national level, Advani said that the BJP and the Congress were the only political parties that had reached the three digit mark in the Lok Sabha elections.



Pokhriyal is new Uttrakhand CM



The BJP’s poll debacle claimed its first fall guy last week when the party leadership decided to accept B.C. Khanduri's resignation as Uttarakhand Chief Minister. The party had lost all five seats from the state in the Lok Sabha elections.



After a lot of confabulations and a four-hour long meeting of the BJP legislature party in New Delhi on June 24, it was decided that Ramesh Pokhriyal is to be the next Chief Minister.



Pokhriyal was sworn in as fifth Chief Minister of Uttarakhand by Governor B.L. Joshi in Dehradun on June 27. Three others were sworn in along with Pokhriyal as ministers.



RSS to chalk out BJP’s future course



The RSS is meeting in Meerut in the middle of next month, where it is expected that some of the major issues on the future course of the BJP will come up for discussion. BJP general secretary (Organisation) Ramlal will attend the three-day meeting of State unit heads of the RSS. This would be the first time since the declaration of the Lok Sabha election results that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other top functionaries of the organization would be present at one place.



Observers say that there are several issues that need to be sorted out between the RSS and the BJP by the end of the year. The three year tenure of Rajnath Singh as BJP president is ending later this year and a new party president has to be elected. The decision on who gets the position will be taken after consultations between BJP leaders and the RSS top brass.



The question whether Advani would be asked to make way for a younger leader as leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha may also come up for discussion. Advani wanted to step down from the position after the Lok Sabha debacle but was persuaded to continue for the time being.



The Sangh’s ideology of Hindutva is also expected to come up. BJP leaders at the recent party national executive meeting rejected the Pilibhit model, a reference to Varun Gandhi’s hate speeches, and advocated a softer, more inclusive Hindutva. The RSS is expected to decide the final line on the matter.



A month later, the BJP plans to hold its own chintan baithak (brain storming session) in August. In the past, RSS representatives have attended all such chintan baithaks of the BJP.